Darrell Davis, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Welcome to the information age, CFL.
Sharing the full, 45-player negotiation lists of all nine teams is a long-overdue step out of the dark, secretive days when CFL general managers could conduct trades without scrutiny. For decades the media has found it easier identifying CSIS agents than any “player from the negotiation list.”
New commissioner Stewart Johnston must have convinced CFL governors that unveiling neg lists would be good for business. It can certainly create more interest in the league.
It’s now time to disclose player salaries.
Unlike other professional leagues that confirm the financial terms of player contracts, the CFL does not reveal player salaries. Any contract details presented to the public come from agents who have given the information to media outlets.
Agents realize such information helps players obtain better contracts, which is a main reason why CFL teams have never wanted to share those details. CFL players make markedly less money than NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL players, but because all those leagues also operate with some sort of spending cap it creates an extra level of engagement among fans wondering how their teams build a competitive roster under the pertinent restrictions.
CFL teams have a salary cap of $6.02 million; NFL teams $279.2 million.
A former CFL all-star once said it was embarrassing to have his salary made public, especially when comparing it to other pro athletes, and the players’ association has long avoided providing any details. Keeping it in perspective: CFL salaries range from $70,000 to $750,000, from more than an average Canadian makes annually to the top 10 percentile of taxpayers. Pro football is still a respectable profession.
NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a Canadian who was named the league’s outstanding player and its top playoff performer after leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship, just signed a four-year extension worth $285 million.
Mitch Marner signed an eight-year deal with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs worth $96 million before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Those numbers are barely fathomable, but the contractual details help fans engage with their sport. ESPN has a website that tracks potential NBA trades by listing team rosters with the length and value of each player’s contract. CapFriendly was a website that tracked NHL salaries so efficiently it was purchased last year by the Washington Capitals.
Not all fans care about neg lists or salary caps, but there’s a faction of the population who find it intriguing to ponder who the Saskatchewan Roughriders might be recruiting and how much they will be paid. It’s great that fans can now click online to confirm the Roughriders own the exclusive CFL playing rights of receiver Chase Claypool or quarterback Trey Lance, each of whom could ponder coming to Canada because their NFL careers didn’t flourish as expected.
Negotiation lists used to be so secretive that American players (and their agents) didn’t know their CFL rights were owned until a team contacted them. That was also an advantage enjoyed by the teams because a listed player, at any time, can formally request a contract. The team has 10 days to comply, otherwise the player becomes available for another team to list him.
Most Canadian players are initially obtained via the college draft, but most American players — who comprise more than half a CFL team’s active roster — are signed from neg lists.
CFL scouts and general managers typically neg-list U.S. college prospects who aren’t surefire NFLers, so it’s sometimes a guessing game that can change if a player makes an NFL roster. Indeed, the neg lists are constantly in flux.
For the past six years each CFL team was twice annually required to reveal 10 of its neg-list players. That wasn’t enough to be wholeheartedly interesting. Even full disclosure of the neg lists isn’t quite enough for full-fledged fans, but it’s a very good start.
