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.

Walters must be on the phone talking about trade involving Whyte.

I don't think I'd sleep on this trade if I were in the east. Montreal is a decent team with a good offense and an ok defense. I feel he'll have more success in Montreal than Edmonton.

3 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

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.

Yeah.

I am not losing sleep over Trevor Harris.

Never bought into the hype from the numbers.

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

Walters must be on the phone talking about trade involving Whyte.

 

This leads me to believe Whyte might be on the way out.... 

2 minutes ago, Noeller said:

 

This leads me to believe Whyte might be on the way out.... 

But who could be in the market?🤔

Ottawa fans must really be burning up now after seeing how little was needed to get a starting QB.   

 

Who got a starting QB?

I like the trade for Montreal. An experienced QB is always useful down the home stretch and every team is one play away from needing their backup to play. I doubt it turns out as well as the Collaros trade last year, but it's the same idea.

34 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

They gave up basically nothing for him though.

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

Pretty much. Didn't give up much but taking on a big contract. Any one know how many years he has left on his deal. Honestly I don't see how he fits well with what khari does. Maybe khari will tailor the offense to Harris. He has lots of weapons at his disposal. 

 If they miss the play offs or Harris gets pulled again could be the end of his time in the CFL. 

 

 

 

25 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Ottawa fans must really be burning up now after seeing how little was needed to get a starting QB.   

 

Harris would've been a perfect fit for plops offense too. 

Harris was probably happy to be done playing the Bombers D this year and now might have to face them again twice lol. Poor Harris might not make it the rest of the year

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

 

This leads me to believe Whyte might be on the way out.... 

This is joke referring to Ricky Ray trade

9 minutes ago, Jpan85 said:

This is joke referring to Ricky Ray trade

Ahhh it's been awhile since that...  

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Ahhh it's been awhile since that...  

Yeah, that is a deep cut.

Also how dare he even remotely compare Ray to Harris.

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

 

 If they miss the play offs or Harris gets pulled again could be the end of his time in the CFL 

Na, this is the league where QBs have 9 lives.  

5 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

Na, this is the league where QBs have 9 lives.  

No kidding. QBs with even a modicum of success live forever in this league. Despite his being an ******* (apparently), he'll be in high demand come FA time... 

I am sure some teams have called Burris in the last 6 months.

Edited October 17, 20214 yr by Geebrr

54 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

Na, this is the league where QBs have 9 lives.  

When I read this, the name Kevin Glen immediately came to mind.

Colt McCoy just went in for Kyler Murray. Looks like Chris Streveler has moved down the bench from backup with the Cards. 

18 minutes ago, Pete Catan's Ghost said:

Colt McCoy just went in for Kyler Murray. Looks like Chris Streveler has moved down the bench from backup with the Cards. 

Strevy has been 3rd string all season.  McCoy has only gone in for two run plays prior to today though.

Ya that's definitely not news. After Strev showed so poorly in his one game last year, the Cards said they were going to bring in a vet backup and went out to get McCoy. Strev became the project #3.... I think that was early in the offseason. 

Edited October 17, 20214 yr by Noeller

2 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Na, this is the league where QBs have 9 lives.  

Only good ones. It's the Jonathon Jennings exception to the rule. 

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Ya that's definitely not news. After Strev showed so poorly in his one game last year, the Cards said they were going to bring in a vet backup and went out to get McCoy. Strev became the project #3.... I think that was early in the offseason. 

Yep. Since then though he looked great in the pre season. I don't think he's less stabile on their roster then any point prior. 

They still think highly enough of him to keep him on the 53 man roster. Most teams are only keeping 2 QB's rostered.

52 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Only good ones. It's the Jonathon Jennings exception to the rule. 

All the 'relatively good' ones disagree with your reasoning. 

52 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

All the 'relatively good' ones disagree with your reasoning. 

No such thing as relatively good in pro sports. Either you're a strength of the team and an asset or you're awaiting replacement. 

2 hours ago, Noeller said:

Ya that's definitely not news. After Strev showed so poorly in his one game last year, the Cards said they were going to bring in a vet backup and went out to get McCoy. Strev became the project #3.... I think that was early in the offseason. 

I knew that they brought in McCoy but hadn't heard he overtook CS.

Thanks to the MBB posters for setting me straight.