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.

14 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Idk whats up with agudosi on the suspended list wish one of the reporters would ask about him. 

I texted into the Coach's Show a couple of weeks ago. O'Shea said Agudosi went home to attend to a family matter.

O'Shea said Agudosi is still in the team's plans.

51 minutes ago, Noeller said:

fwiw, Riders players dropping like flies today....already missing Kyran Moore from a knee injury suffered vs Montreal, AC Leonard a no-show at practice due to unspecified injury, then newly acquired Duke Williams gets injured and taken down the tunnel, and shortly after that, Dan Clark goes down and can barely walk under his own power..... a shallow depth team gets shallower.....

Duke williams has a hamstring issue.

That is the injury he had with Buffalo in camp. I mean it could be the other leg, but the same leg isn't good, and the other leg going isn't good either. 

43 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

Duke williams has a hamstring issue.

That is the injury he had with Buffalo in camp. I mean it could be the other leg, but the same leg isn't good, and the other leg going isn't good either. 

In their last game, when Duke recovered the onside kick....I thought he was gone...but not was caught from behind rather quickly. He looked very slow.

4 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

In their last game, when Duke recovered the onside kick....I thought he was gone...but not was caught from behind rather quickly. He looked very slow.

Best pass he was had his way all game. Just got too excited and hyperventilated.

Wonder which guys on the Stamps aren't vaxxed.

3 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

I texted into the Coach's Show a couple of weeks ago. O'Shea said Agudosi went home to attend to a family matter.

O'Shea said Agudosi is still in the team's plans.

By the way, as of today Agudosi is back on the practice roster.

The Stamps should just cut those players. What good is it for them to even be on the roster??

3 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The Stamps should just cut those players. What good is it for them to even be on the roster??

Right? They clearly put themselves ahead of the team and if they can't play in the most important game why keep them now? Get players in there who will be there to help when it matters.

10 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Right? They clearly put themselves ahead of the team and if they can't play in the most important game why keep them now? Get players in there who will be there to help when it matters.

I guess these selfish players spell team with an "I". 

4 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

I texted into the Coach's Show a couple of weeks ago. O'Shea said Agudosi went home to attend to a family matter.

O'Shea said Agudosi is still in the team's plans.

Thanks for the update. 

Lions just signed an American kicker. Not happy with Macho Camacho. Probably should have kept the rights to Castillo.......

6 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Honestly idk how you even keep guys like that. We will play now but we won't get the vaxx to play when it counts. Gtfoh idc who it is. 

They should just bring in the 5 fattest people they can find. Atleast they could take up room and force the pass rusher to go wider around the edge. 

Maybe they should call pop Warner teams and find some ol. Least then they'd get more disciplined players with some heart. 

 

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The Stamps should just cut those players. What good is it for them to even be on the roster??

 

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

Right? They clearly put themselves ahead of the team and if they can't play in the most important game why keep them now? Get players in there who will be there to help when it matters.

Let’s not forget that the Bombers have an unvaccinated player NDP one with only one shot, who according to Mike is a “star”. Would you cut Collaros right now if it was him, or Willie J?

32 minutes ago, Bubba Zanetti said:

Lions just signed an American kicker. Not happy with Macho Camacho. Probably should have kept the rights to Castillo.......

Castillo chose to opt back into his contract in order to make the trade to Winnipeg happen... not so sure he opts back in to join that mess.

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I guess these selfish players spell team with an "I". 

I don't even know if you can safely say selfish in all cases. Some likely legitimately fear the vaccine and believe conspiracy theories.

The "I trust my own immune system" group - selfish. The conspiracy believing group - dumb.

The players are great athletes, not necessarily the geniuses of society.

Just now, WildPath said:

I don't even know if you can safely say selfish in all cases. Some likely legitimately fear the vaccine and believe conspiracy theories.

The "I trust my own immune system" group - selfish. The conspiracy believing group - dumb.

The players are great athletes, not necessarily the geniuses of society.

Bottom line is get vaxxed or leave. FIFO. 

4 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Let’s not forget that the Bombers have an unvaccinated player NDP one with only one shot, who according to Mike is a “star”. Would you cut Collaros right now if it was him, or Willie J?

if they are unable to play in the final or grey cup? Yes. I have no tolerance for people who don't get vaccinated. 

8 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

 

 

Let’s not forget that the Bombers have an unvaccinated player NDP one with only one shot, who according to Mike is a “star”. Would you cut Collaros right now if it was him, or Willie J?

Yes, I would say get rid of him. I don't care who he is because he won't be playing in the Western Final. 

2 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Yes, I would say get rid of him. I don't care who he is because he won't be playing in the Western Final. 

Actually they would play on the West final. The vaccine mandate is only about travel for the CFL, so since it is a home game they would be allowed to play. It would only affect the Grey Cup. 

16 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Actually they would play on the West final. The vaccine mandate is only about travel for the CFL, so since it is a home game they would be allowed to play. It would only affect the Grey Cup. 

Not if SpeedFlex was the coach they wouldn't be I think is his point. If they can't play when it matters they won't play at all.

26 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Actually they would play on the West final. The vaccine mandate is only about travel for the CFL, so since it is a home game they would be allowed to play. It would only affect the Grey Cup. 

For the sake of discussion here, if Zach can't play in the GC because he's unvaccinated (which I understand he is vaxxed) then I don't want him. Why would I want Collaros in the West Final & McGuire in the Grey Cup? We saw that Dog & Pony Show before in the Grey Cup with Ryan Dinwiddie after Kevin Glenn broke his arm in the East Final. No thanks. 

7 hours ago, 17to85 said:

if they are unable to play in the final or grey cup? Yes. I have no tolerance for people who don't get vaccinated. 

Absolutely. Also, I want their backup to play as much as possible to be ready.

Unvaccinated are dead weight.

FIFO

Edited November 3, 20214 yr by Geebrr

13 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Let’s not forget that the Bombers have an unvaccinated player NDP one with only one shot, who according to Mike is a “star”. Would you cut Collaros right now if it was him, or Willie J?

Two entirely different conversations... One guy on the DNP list may be a long term project...

The Stamps are dealing with several starters unable to play in the playoffs... Which is a much bigger problem for them.

End of the day though... All of the above should get vaccinated... It is just the responsible thing to do.

Well it is possible that these guys both on Calgary and whoever on the Bombers have been vaccinated since the original report.  

4 minutes ago, Eternal optimist said:

Two entirely different conversations... One guy on the DNP list may be a long term project...

The Stamps are dealing with several starters unable to play in the playoffs... Which is a much bigger problem for them.

End of the day though... All of the above should get vaccinated... It is just the responsible thing to do.

Sorry that should have read “and” and not “NDP” (stupid autocorrect a clearly I have spent too much time in the Politics thread). I have no idea who the players are and what their current playing status is. I agree that all should vaccinate for their and their teammates’ safety. 

And the conversation is often different when it is our team vs another team on the same issue. 

Just now, TrueBlue4ever said:

And the conversation is often different when it is our team vs another team on the same issue. 

Of course it is different, every other team sucks lol