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.

7 minutes ago, JCon said:

I can't remember if I saw this here first or Twitter but anyhow...

The article has more details. 

The CFL’s ten highest-paid receivers

https://3downnation.com/2021/10/13/the-cfls-ten-highest-paid-receivers/

1) Derel Walker, Edmonton Elks (A) 

2) Lemar Durant, B.C. Lions (N) 

3) Shaq Evans, Saskatchewan Roughriders (A) 

4) Brandon Banks, Hamilton Tiger-Cats (A) 

5) Greg Ellingson, Edmonton Elks (A) 

6) Nic Demski, Winnipeg Blue Bombers (A) 

7) Tevaun Smith, Edmonton Elks (A)

😎 Eugene Lewis, Montreal Alouettes (A) 

9) Bralon Addison, Hamilton Tiger-Cats (A

10) Kamar Jorden, Calgary Stampeders (A) 

 

Top ten in yards - If this is correct, looks like only 4 make the top 10 in yards so far.

Lawler

Whitehead

Lewis

Wieneke

Burnham

Jordan

Ellingson

Ambles

Demski

Moore

Only Demski and Lewis are giving the best bang for buck from that list. 

Pretty good bang for the buck from Lawler, I'd say........

14 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Top ten in yards - If this is correct, looks like only 4 make the top 10 in yards so far.

Lawler

Whitehead

Lewis

Wieneke

Burnham

Jordan

Ellingson

Ambles

Demski

Moore

The top 10 paid list has some really bad over pays. Durant, evans and smith for sure. Banks is clearly done, but I get why hamilton thought he would be better.

Just now, Noeller said:

Pretty good bang for the buck from Lawler, I'd say........

It is, but next year if he doesnt go to the NFL he's probably gonna be wanting 150k+ pretty easy, 

Grey Cup tickets will go on sale to season ticket holders next week and to the general public October 26. Only 24,000 seats for this year’s game, and all fans require proof of vaccination.  

Another day, and yet another idiotic rider media article on the CFL basically crying about the bombers. This time also league wide defensive dominance. Like holy crap does this guy think the elk shouldve punted 3 times from inside their own 3 yard line? Its normal for the toxic type of rider fan to be extra salty when the bombers are great and riders bad. But the whole damn rider media circuit is foaming at the mouth and grasping at straws for a reason to see the bombers sabotaged. 

https://3downnation.com/2021/10/15/dumb-dumber-enough-with-the-safeties/

1 minute ago, wbbfan said:

Another day, and yet another idiotic rider media article on the CFL basically crying about the bombers. This time also league wide defensive dominance. Like holy crap does this guy think the elk shouldve punted 3 times from inside their own 3 yard line? Its normal for the toxic type of rider fan to be extra salty when the bombers are great and riders bad. But the whole damn rider media circuit is foaming at the mouth and grasping at straws for a reason to see the bombers sabotaged. 

https://3downnation.com/2021/10/15/dumb-dumber-enough-with-the-safeties/

3Down went downhill fast after after Edwards left. Now, it's basically a fan site. 

Just now, JCon said:

3Down went downhill fast after after Edwards left. Now, it's basically a fan site. 

No joke. I feel like dunk writes 1 in every 20 articles or so too now. They just let it be a soap box for terrible mouth pieces. 

  I mean how do they not managed a deal to have doug brown do a weekly football article. Or duane forde an article going in depth on break out players all over the league.  Or guys like bauming or some thing. The league has people around the country who are interesting and creative but 3dn and TSN settle for soo much old garbage just because its been around. 

2 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

No joke. I feel like dunk writes 1 in every 20 articles or so too now. They just let it be a soap box for terrible mouth pieces. 

  I mean how do they not managed a deal to have doug brown do a weekly football article. Or duane forde an article going in depth on break out players all over the league.  Or guys like bauming or some thing. The league has people around the country who are interesting and creative but 3dn and TSN settle for soo much old garbage just because its been around. 

Ferguson has CFP, which isn't bad. 

 

I have hope that 3Down will improve over time, which is why I still link their articles and follow them. But, it's hard when they lack the professional editor that Edwards kind of was. If only they could find a national partner to piggyback on, like the way it started under the Spectator. 

Just now, JCon said:

Ferguson has CFP, which isn't bad. 

 

I have hope that 3Down will improve over time, which is why I still link their articles and follow them. But, it's hard when they lack the professional editor that Edwards kind of was. If only they could find a national partner to piggyback on, like the way it started under the Spectator. 

Yeah I hope it does. I like the around the league anonymous weekly post. 

2 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Yeah I hope it does. I like the around the league anonymous weekly post. 

That's hands down the best thing 3rdown does.

Do you have to be stupid to be a Rider fan or does becoming a Rider fan make one stupid?

1 minute ago, rebusrankin said:

Do you have to be stupid to be a Rider fan or does becoming a Rider fan make one stupid?

It's more so "Ignorant", and yes they go hand in hand.....

 

Edited October 15, 20214 yr by Bigblue204

That's more like it. Also. Hope Harris ok. ****.

Brady train driving the pile love it

Tough catch. 

Like the toss play 

 

WTF

Ok get us Sean Whyte immediately

Don't really see a need for Harris in Montreal.  He's been awful for some time and is reportedly toxic in more ways than one.

They gave up basically nothing for him though.

He will keep them in the mix to come out of the East.

That means we will be seeing Trevor Harris 2 more times. 👍

Edited October 17, 20214 yr by M.O.A.B.

Just now, M.O.A.B. said:

Thats mean we’re seeing Trevor Harris 2 more times. 👍

He must be a bugger for punishment.....he's probably having nightmares already about the home and home with us

Im guessing Elks will pursue Arbuckle.

Just now, Geebrr said:

They gave up basically nothing for him though.

He will keep them in the mix to come out of the East.

Maybe.  I doubt he leaves the sideline.  Shiltz is decent and Khari likes a little mobility plus the run game and playaction.  Harris has never run an offense like that, more of a west coast/spread type.

Just remembered Sewell is on the Als.

Extra hilarious.

That won't be awkward at all:

Montreal Alouettes’ defensive tackle Almondo Sewell has taken a shot at former teammate Trevor Harris following a season together in Edmonton ahead of Saturday’s game between the Als and Elks.

“I know Trevor, you know? You hit him one time, he starts folding. Let’s see if that old Trevor Harris is going to show up again. It doesn’t matter what he looks like on [Instagram] where he’s posting all those pictures looking like a pit bull, but we’ll see,” Sewell said in a videoconference