https://www.tsn.ca/naylor-many-questions-but-few-answers-on-a-2021-cfl-season-1.1543725

The Canadian Football League has been outrageously quiet since it pulled the plug on its season more than two months ago, leaving behind a wake of speculation about where things are headed next.

With the reality setting in that COVID-19 is likely to still be around in some form next summer, there is real concern about what the 2021 season might look like or if it will occur at all.

There are teams that believe it is vitally important to play in 2021 and that without a season the CFL is in danger of being mothballed. Whether every team believes that is another question. And there is a lot to sort out before anyone can accurately predict what a season might look like and how much pain the teams are collectively willing to stomach to make it happen.

The league and its franchises are currently running through various scenarios for next season, trying to get a handle on true costs of each and working at ways to trim budgets and save money. That’s likely to continue until the league can truly choose a course of action, which feels like next April at the earliest.

Why? Well, there’s not much point in fully committing to a scenario that’s seven months away if that scenario might be totally unrealistic by the time you get there.

There has been no 2021 business plan presented yet, only regular updates to the presidents and governors about what the league is doing to prepare for the unknown.

It should be noted that teams will need to make decisions about retaining assistant coaches with expiring contracts by December, which will be the first real economic commitments to a 2021 season. Restrictions on signing players will need to be lifted well before the opening of February free agency, where players are likely to meet a cautious market – one in which signing bonuses will probably be absent.

There’s a collective bargaining agreement to amend, if not renegotiate, with the players, which will require some kind of pressure point because it always does. But the league can’t sit down with the players until it gets a true handle on revenues and it can’t do that until it chooses a course of action.

Will CFL teams be allowed to have full stadiums next summer? It doesn't seem likely. But just what percentage of capacity will be allowed – if any at all – is impossible to guess. It seems as if the league is counting on the restrictions that currently prevent fans from being in stadiums being lifted. But to what degree?

When will we see a schedule? Good question. Or could we see multiple schedules for different scenarios? Never say never.

Could it be a 21-week, 18-game season played in home stadiums? Unlikely, given the losses teams are expected to take with reduced numbers of fans in the stands. Could we see a return to the 10-week bubble? Maybe. A nine-game schedule played in home stadiums before fans? Perhaps.

The point is no one knows, so demanding answers to questions that can’t possibly be answered right now is a waste of time.

All we know is that there’s going to be a lot less revenue for teams to operate with under any scenario, not just because of crowd restrictions but also due to older fans choosing to stay home for their safety. The CFL’s fan demographics do it no favours in this regard.

Getting consensus on a best course of action won’t be easy for the CFL’s nine teams. Back in the summer, there were teams that were willing to play without government support and teams that weren’t. And just like then, the biggest challenge commissioner Randy Ambrosie faces now is finding a scenario they can all live with.

Adopting a revenue-sharing model so that each team absorbs the same amount of red ink would certainly make consensus-building easier, which many believe should be the direction for the future, COVID-19 or not.

The other elephant in the room is federal government, which many in the CFL believe left it high and dry last summer after months of back-and-forth talks where the league believed it was making progress.

Is the CFL prepared to go down that road again, knowing it doesn’t control the timeline and larger forces can change things in an instant? Perhaps, although it’s not as though the feds don’t have a long list of people coming at them with their hands out.

There will be voices demanding the owners suck up the losses of playing a season under any circumstance, as owners have done in other sports. But the business calculation in sports such as MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA is different because of the percentage of revenues those leagues derive from television.

Losses sustained by playing in those leagues can also be viewed as investments towards protecting massive franchise values. That’s not the case in the CFL, where teams can’t just float money on the backs of their franchise values, and where one third of the teams are publicly owned.

It would be beneficial for the league to soon announce its formal commitment to play some kind of season in 2021.

But beyond that, get ready for months more of waiting with lots of questions and speculation but very few answers.

10 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Why would the CFL allow 100 players in a year there are no pre season games? Wouldn't 75 made more sense?

 

 

3 hours ago, JCon said:

They expect lots of injuries. 

^ that plus teams have 2 off seasons worth of stock piled imports.

The scrimmage wouldve been a good idea. 

2 hours ago, M.O.A.B. said:

I believe, 100 includes global and draftees. With the current cap and the health protocols possibly being the reason.  I could be wrong though and most of the time, I am.

Your spouse would second that, I am sure.

As Lalji says, the i's have been dotted and the t's crossed......TC officially opens July 10th!

 

Rashaun Simonise signs with Als, his 3rd team in his 3rd year in the CFL. 

7 hours ago, M.O.A.B. said:

Rashaun Simonise signs with Als, his 3rd team in his 3rd year in the CFL. 

Some of these players het chance after chance after chance. Has shown nothing to deserve it. 

Simonise gets chances because you can't teach size and you can't teach passport. He's got both and he's only 26. FTR: I'm not complaining that we let him go.

Guys with the physical tools get multiple chances. As it was, as it is and as it always will be.

9 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Some of these players het chance after chance after chance. Has shown nothing to deserve it. 

He's decent on ST.

Banks doing more complaining IC. Not sure if he wants to play this year...I get it, I honestly do. But damn that guy complains alot!!

18 hours ago, M.O.A.B. said:

Rashaun Simonise signs with Als, his 3rd team in his 3rd year in the CFL. 

Had a good buddy that was at training camp with the bombers during Simonise's last year with the team. He said he could not believe how someone could be a professional athlete and literally not give a crap about anything. Seemed like he did not pay attention in meetings and hardly ever tried. 

2 hours ago, stevethe3rd said:

Had a good buddy that was at training camp with the bombers during Simonise's last year with the team. He said he could not believe how someone could be a professional athlete and literally not give a crap about anything. Seemed like he did not pay attention in meetings and hardly ever tried. 

Those are the people who are naturally talented and never had to work for anything before. They just never learned the value of hard work.

20 hours ago, M.O.A.B. said:

Rashaun Simonise signs with Als, his 3rd team in his 3rd year in the CFL. 

Duron Carter 2.0

17 minutes ago, Eternal optimist said:

Duron Carter 2.0

Carter at least had some production though. Simonise is like the Dollarama version of Carter.

5 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Those are the people who are naturally talented and never had to work for anything before. They just never learned the value of hard work.

That sounds like him to the furthest extent. If he straightened out I would honestly take him back in an instant.  That guy was wildly talented. Hes still waiting for the NFL to come call. 

13 hours ago, stevethe3rd said:

Had a good buddy that was at training camp with the bombers during Simonise's last year with the team. He said he could not believe how someone could be a professional athlete and literally not give a crap about anything. Seemed like he did not pay attention in meetings and hardly ever tried. 

That's the story on the guy. Wants it given to him. 

15 hours ago, TBURGESS said:

Simonise gets chances because you can't teach size and you can't teach passport. He's got both and he's only 26. FTR: I'm not complaining that we let him go.

You can't teach stupid either.

Canada Day post from Justin Medlock

If that means he's signing with the Riders he's dead to me.

7 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

If that means he's signing with the Riders he's dead to me.

I take it as a troll job on the Riders (and I approve of his message).

https://www.cfl.ca/2021/07/02/continuity-key-bombers-stout-defence-ready-2021/

1 hour ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

If that means he's signing with the Riders he's dead to me.

He's saying the bar is wearing the big play chain.....

it's an old meme from 2 years ago...he might have just learned about it. Either way...making fun of the toothless mob is always welcome and shows Meddy is a Bomber for life...

On 2021-06-29 at 10:01 AM, wbbfan said:

 

^ that plus teams have 2 off seasons worth of stock piled imports.

The scrimmage wouldve been a good idea. 

Yeah, it would have.

So I was thinking today how even after he had emerged as a starter in 2000 and had thrown for 30 tds and led Winnipeg to a playoff win, Khari Jones still got doubted in the media. Fajardo throws 18 tds and loses his only playoff game and he's an MOP candidate. My conclusion is this, the media does not know

Yeah i truly have no idea where all this love for Fajardo has come from. The guy averaged 1 passing TD per game in a pass-happy league. Christ, Bethel-Thompson had 8 more passing TD's and only played like 12 full games lol. Where are all the puff piece articles proclaiming the greatness of MBT?!?!?

Edited July 6, 20214 yr by Bubba Zanetti

Media for some reason always has to jerk off the riders to appease the fans. No idea why....

2 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Media for some reason always has to jerk off the riders to appease the fans. No idea why....

Sadly true. Weve managed to retain pretty much all of our GREY CUP WINNING team yet were too old, have question marks all over the place, cant replace LaPolice, etc, etc, in pretty much every article ive read. Yet the Riders who lost their 2 best defensive players, and had their already below-average o-line completely dismantled by retirements and free agency, but with Fajardo at the helm theyre the class of the west!!!

Edited July 6, 20214 yr by Bubba Zanetti