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.

6 minutes ago, Noeller said:

 

 

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Edited August 20, 20214 yr by JCon

39 minutes ago, JCon said:

 

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Can you imagine what they would have done to him had they lost?

Regarding Nichols. Always thought he had CFL potential when I first saw him with the Elks lol but then that gruesome leg injury happened and eventho he overcame that... the injuries kept piling up and yeah.. he was our best QB since KG tho and I'll always respect him for getting back up after being knocked down so many times. If u gonna be dumb u gotta be tough. Nichols is tough. But he's done. He was done 3 years ago 

Never heard of the Elks coach

 

Likely part of the reason why he was let go was lack of CFL knowledge? 

38 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Regarding Nichols. Always thought he had CFL potential when I first saw him with the Elks lol but then that gruesome leg injury happened and eventho he overcame that... the injuries kept piling up and yeah.. he was our best QB since KG tho and I'll always respect him for getting back up after being knocked down so many times. If u gonna be dumb u gotta be tough. Nichols is tough. But he's done. He was done 3 years ago 

Never heard of the Elks coach

 

Likely part of the reason why he was let go was lack of CFL knowledge? 

You put it real well with Nichols. 

The st coach was being a royal turd on the side line. I've seen college and lower guys act like that back in the day. Doesn't fly any more especially in the pros. Even more so with fellow coaches. His teams were the worst in the league too. 

One time after going at another coach I saw elizondo grab him and read him the riot act last night. 

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

One time after going at another coach I saw elizondo grab him and read him the riot act last night. 

saw that too. didnt know what it was about. Elizondo seems like a decent guy.

Edited August 21, 20214 yr by Mark F

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

saw that too. didnt know what it was about. Elizondo seems like a decent guy.

I think he is an *******. Saying players lack character is trash. There is no way for a player to respond to that

Say nothing and it is out there. Say something and now you look like a problem, even if you tell the truth.

Brutal

45 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

think he is an *******. Saying players lack character is trash.

I didn't see anything about that. 

42 minutes ago, Mark F said:

I didn't see anything about that. 

Kenny Stafford earlier in camp.

 

8 hours ago, JCon said:

 

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Scapegoat. 

2 hours ago, Geebrr said:

Kenny Stafford earlier in camp.

 

It's a bad rookie hc move. No matter If it's true or not. I do suspect that it's true but it's a dumb move. Nothing good comes out of it for any one. 

 Also to say Stafford is a character issue while employing wilder is a freaking joke. 

All that said from what I saw live and the little clips I've seen I'd a Sent that coach packing mid game at the latest. That guy was toxic af. 

12 hours ago, Geebrr said:

I think he is an *******. Saying players lack character is trash. There is no way for a player to respond to that

Say nothing and it is out there. Say something and now you look like a problem, even if you tell the truth.

Brutal

Still stand by my pre-season pick that JE will be the first HC to be sacked. Also, the search for Sunderland’s replacement will happen in the off-season. Ted Goveia on deck?

Edited August 21, 20214 yr by Pete Catan's Ghost

10 hours ago, wbbfan said:

It's a bad rookie hc move. No matter If it's true or not. I do suspect that it's true but it's a dumb move. Nothing good comes out of it for any one. 

 Also to say Stafford is a character issue while employing wilder is a freaking joke. 

All that said from what I saw live and the little clips I've seen I'd a Sent that coach packing mid game at the latest. That guy was toxic af. 

Even if it is true you don't **** a guy over like that in public. 

 

27 minutes ago, iHeart said:

 

This is not good.

4 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

This is not good.

well the Bombers aren't playing this week at least I don't think we play against the Elks for awhile do we?

Jeff Hamilton reported that the Elks did not get 85% vaccinated, so the game should be cancelled per the rules. It will be interesting to find out if they did, in fact, reach 85% before this. 

 

I guess this is the beginning of the end of the season. 

31 minutes ago, JCon said:

Jeff Hamilton reported that the Elks did not get 85% vaccinated, so the game should be cancelled per the rules. It will be interesting to find out if they did, in fact, reach 85% before this. 

 

I guess this is the beginning of the end of the season. 

I really hope it’s not that grim, but this is obviously not great. 

42 minutes ago, JCon said:

Jeff Hamilton reported that the Elks did not get 85% vaccinated, so the game should be cancelled per the rules. It will be interesting to find out if they did, in fact, reach 85% before this. 

 

I guess this is the beginning of the end of the season. 

are there unvaccinated players on rosters?

if yes, I dont understand it. this makes no sense.

league is in a precarious state, dont need to be letting stupid people decide about this.

not vaccinated, off the team. if your an American, leave the country.

talk about politically correct. 

Edited August 23, 20214 yr by Mark F

Just now, Mark F said:

are there unvaccinated players on rosters?

if yes, I dont understand it.

league is in a precarious state, dont need to be letting stupid people decide about thismissue.

not vaccinated, off the team.

It was all negotiated with the CFLPA. If your team is under 85% vaccination and there is an outbreak, you lose the game and it is cancelled. 

Not all Bombers are vaccinated but they've really pushed it. Fit in or f... off. 

8 minutes ago, JCon said:

you lose the game and it is cancelled. 

so the other players, the team, the other teams, the fans, and the league, TSN, all lose out, and the numbskulls bear no responsibility.

This is not a league that can afford this.

Just now, Mark F said:

so the other players, the team, the other teams, the fans, and the league, TSN, all lose out, and the numbskulls bear no responsibility.

This is not a league that can afford this.

That's what I think. 

But, it likely won't matter much because they need to be vaxxed to travel by plane very soon. 

So, all non-vaxxed players should be cut right now. Do the right thing. 

Saw that they are looking at rescheduling it for October when the two teams have a bye.

Am I correct that if it can't be rescheduled Edmonton takes the 1-0 loss?

Also wonder the % of Bombers vaccinated.

23 minutes ago, JCon said:

It was all negotiated with the CFLPA. If your team is under 85% vaccination and there is an outbreak, you lose the game and it is cancelled. 

Not all Bombers are vaccinated but they've really pushed it. Fit in or f... off. 

For the life of me, I can't understand why any team, the CFLPA, or the league would let its players go unvaccinated. All it takes is one careless plague rat to ruin an already precarious season.

I doubt you're able to cut players based on vaccination status, but having them unvaccinated is risking the health of the rest of your team and legitimately putting your team in risk of losing via forfeit. You'd have to imagine that would create tension at an interpersonal level amongst the players, especially on teams below 85%.

FIFO - go ask The Rock if the XFL is hiring.

As far as we know, everyone that tested positive was fully vaxxed. So, unlikely they'll have bad health outcomes, per the science, but I just hope that they haven't spread it to those who can't get vaxxed yet.