2024/2025 CFL (non-Bomber) Off-Season Thread

[wbbfan]

10 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Just curious, why is the Ajou signing great for Canada & the league? I don't get my fellow Canadians. We have a President attacking us everyday, threatening tariffs, wants our resources at the same time saying we have nothing his country needs which is so much **** & wants us to be the 51st State. We say we hate him as well as being part of the US. We don't like being bullied by a big mouth American. You'd think we would be proud of everything Canadian including the CFL. But we can't as a Nation get enough NFL, MLB & NBA because it's American. We burst with pride everytime a CFL player gets a sniff from the NFL. Like it's supposed to validate simehow that the CFL is a great league when we already know that it is. My attitude is **** off NFL. You want to sign our players under contract then PAY US when you do!!! A hundred thousand dollars per player minimum or stay away.

Canadian football player exposure is always valuable in the nfl. It strengthens the pipeline of Canadian kids getting shots down south from ncaa to nfl and of American players coming up here. 

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Canadian football player exposure is always valuable in the nfl. It strengthens the pipeline of Canadian kids getting shots down south from ncaa to nfl and of American players coming up here. 

What did we do thirty years ago? I'd argue that the quality of Americans coming up here back then was better than or equal to now. Yes, I know there weren't rival leagues like the UFL or expanded NFL rosters but still, if the NFL wants to raid our rosters then they should pay for teams for the privelige of taking our players. Then, we'd know for sure if a player like Ajou is just training camp fodder or is a serious prospect. As a league, we seem to cut off our nose to spite our face, Too much freedom for players moving around. Fans have nothing vested in most players which hurts loyalties.  Most fans can't name all the players on the rosters or their numbers unlike when I was a young fan many years ago. Less investment leads to fan apathy. That's a huge problem. 

Edited yesterday at 02:29 AM by SpeedFlex27

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

What did we do thirty years ago? I'd argue that the quality of Americans coming up here back then was better than or equal to now. Yes, I know there weren't rival leagues like the UFL or expanded NFL rosters but still, if the NFL wants to raid our rosters then they should pay for teams for the privelige of taking our players. Then, we'd know for sure if a player like Ajou is just training camp fodder or is a serious prospect. As a league, we seem to cut off our nose to spite our face, Too much freedom for players moving around. Fans have nothing vested in most players which hurts loyalties.  Most fans can't name all the players on the rosters or their numbers unlike when I was a young fan many years ago. Less investment leads to fan apathy. That's a huge problem. 

Un comparable, considering 15 years ago the nfl didn’t want mobile QBs, didn’t think spread or option was viable, small tweeners or a lot receivers. Now they do.

 But we didn’t see true pro rookies performing at such high levels at db wr or qb like we do now. So I don’t think it was as close to as good now. Just easier to get more optimal fits and lots of guys with out nfl interest. 
 
 30 years ago, they tried us expansion too.  30 years ago Canadian college kids almost never got nfl tc invites. Little on deals bonuses and drafted. 
 

Fans love player mobility. Most popular time of the year in sports worlds are trade dead lines, drafts, and free agency day. 
 

Leagues problem is trying to cater to the wrong people, and not focusing on innovation. 

[SpeedFlex27]

6 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Un comparable, considering 15 years ago the nfl didn’t want mobile QBs, didn’t think spread or option was viable, small tweeners or a lot receivers. Now they do.

 But we didn’t see true pro rookies performing at such high levels at db wr or qb like we do now. So I don’t think it was as close to as good now. Just easier to get more optimal fits and lots of guys with out nfl interest. 
 
 30 years ago, they tried us expansion too.  30 years ago Canadian college kids almost never got nfl tc invites. Little on deals bonuses and drafted. 
 

Fans love player mobility. Most popular time of the year in sports worlds are trade dead lines, drafts, and free agency day. 
 

Leagues problem is trying to cater to the wrong people, and not focusing on innovation. 

We must be the only professional league who lets another football league poach its players without compensation. Look what teams in soccer pay when players transfer from one professional team to another or go from one league to the other. Country to country.

As far as the CFL goes with free agency among its own teams, we draft or sign a player & develop them. Then bang, as soon as their contract is up, players leave their original team. The team that spent the money developing these players lose them for nothing.

I think we need to take a hard line with the NFL & demand compensation. The same hard line with CFL free agency. Have restricted free agency among teams in the league until players reach a certain age or a certain number of years of playing experience before they can leave a team without compensation.

I just look around & for millions of young Canadian football fans, the CFL means absolutely nothing to them. Part of that reason is because of the way the league is run. With the CFL, everything is free. Complete free agency among teams. Players free to sign with NFL teams even if they are under contract. I just feel the CFL's business model is broken & because of that we average 19-22,000 a game year in & year in & year out with little growth. We lose out in the 18-35 year old demographic because they don't take the CFL seriously as a pro league. That has to change.

 

 

Edited 20 hours ago by SpeedFlex27

[wbbfan]

7 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

We must be the only professional league who lets another football league poach its players without compensation. Look what teams in soccer pay when players transfer from one professional team to another or go from one league to the other. Country to country.

As far as the CFL goes with free agency among its own teams, we draft or sign a player & develop them. Then bang, as soon as their contract is up, players leave their original team. The team that spent the money developing these players lose them for nothing.

I think we need to take a hard line with the NFL & demand compensation. The same hard line with CFL free agency. Have restricted free agency among teams in the league until players reach a certain age or a certain number of years of playing experience before they can leave a team without compensation.

I just look around & for millions of young Canadian football fans, the CFL means absolutely nothing to them. Part of that reason is because of the way the league is run. With the CFL, everything is free. Complete free agency among teams. Players free to sign with NFL teams even if they are under contract. I just feel the CFL's business model is broken & because of that we average 19-22,000 a game year in & year in & year out with little growth. We lose out in the 18-35 year old demographic because they don't take the CFL seriously as a pro league. That has to change.

 

 

Nah. This is how it goes. It’s not like we are losing guys under contract mid season.  We went from one year plus an option that allowed guys to go to the nfl to this. 
 Independent pro baseball has the same windows in the off season. 
 

With in the league it self the window of guys staying or going is almost never that quick unless the team decides it to be. 
 

We have no leverage, and this isn’t the nfl deal. This is the rule with our own PA contracts first and foremost. Then we have a contract with the nfl for option windows. From when they gave us a no interest loan that saved us from folding after us expansion. 
 If teams have locked up multi year base rookie contracts that nfl teams need to buy out, this will cease to be a pro league. We don’t get another guy with hope of nfl play again. 
 As it is we can’t even compete with the Canadian kids in our own draft. This would be the death knell for our league. 
 

Those aren’t the reasons we lost the young demographic. This is just the life and reality of a 2nd tier league. Team engagement is where it starts. Look at the rum hut and RBs home games. Some teams do it well, other teams don’t have a fan base. By some I mean it’s getting close to half the league. 
 Yes the league needs to change stuff, but the familiar comfort of a sure thing has lulled the teams into accepting what we have. 
 

 

 

[Mark H.]

8 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

We must be the only professional league who lets another football league poach its players without compensation. Look what teams in soccer pay when players transfer from one professional team to another or go from one league to the other. Country to country.

As far as the CFL goes with free agency among its own teams, we draft or sign a player & develop them. Then bang, as soon as their contract is up, players leave their original team. The team that spent the money developing these players lose them for nothing.

I think we need to take a hard line with the NFL & demand compensation. The same hard line with CFL free agency. Have restricted free agency among teams in the league until players reach a certain age or a certain number of years of playing experience before they can leave a team without compensation.

I just look around & for millions of young Canadian football fans, the CFL means absolutely nothing to them. Part of that reason is because of the way the league is run. With the CFL, everything is free. Complete free agency among teams. Players free to sign with NFL teams even if they are under contract. I just feel the CFL's business model is broken & because of that we average 19-22,000 a game year in & year in & year out with little growth. We lose out in the 18-35 year old demographic because they don't take the CFL seriously as a pro league. That has to change.

I don't know, man. I see where you're coming from and I say this with all due respect.

I'd say the NFL to the CFL is like the U.S. is to Canada. They are the big elephant next door, and we can't help but be affected by every twitch and grunt.

If the CFL draws a line in the sand, the NFL will be the ocean that washes it away. 

[Stickem]

1 hour ago, Mark H. said:

 

If the CFL draws a line in the sand, the NFL will be the ocean that washes it away. 

It's money....money......money.....and the nfl has lot's of it.....So they wave the bucks and it's adios....It's always a players dream to play down south and nobody will ever stomp on anyone's dream BUT that dream does nothing for the CFL AND it's fans paying for tix to see the best and their high expectations for their club.....I believe there should be some compensation however this system of ' we do our best to get the best and they take it' has gone on for so long it's just become an accepted part of our football world....We should be working on a way to change it

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, Stickem said:

It's money....money......money.....and the nfl has lot's of it.....So they wave the bucks and it's adios....It's always a players dream to play down south and nobody will ever stomp on anyone's dream BUT that dream does nothing for the CFL AND it's fans paying for tix to see the best and their high expectations for their club.....I believe there should be some compensation however this system of ' we do our best to get the best and they take it' has gone on for so long it's just become an accepted part of our football world....We should be working on a way to change it

Agreed. Nothing will change with the status quo. However, what some here are saying is that we are a developmental league & we should just accept it. Don't ask the NFL for money poaching players. Okay then, let the NFL take over & make it official. Do away with 3 down football & play four downs with the NFL field as we're developing players for that league, anyway. Put the CFL with the UFL. Play our 10 games in the spring, Let the roster turn over every season & start again the next year. Bring in all American coaches & 98% American players.

If I hear, "No, wait, don't change the rules. Keep it 3 downs!!" I'll just ask why? If we're a developmental league then why play different rules on a different field for guys wanting to make the NFL? Go full bore American & be done with it as it's better for the players anyway.

[Mark H.]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Agreed. Nothing will change with the status quo. However, what some here are saying is that we are a developmental league & we should just accept it. Don't ask the NFL for money poaching players. Okay then, let the NFL take over & make it official. Do away with 3 down football & play four downs with the NFL field as we're developing players for that league, anyway. Put the CFL with the UFL. Play our 10 games in the spring, Let the roster turn over every season & start again the next year. Bring in all American coaches & 98% American players.

If I hear, "No, wait, don't change the rules. Keep it 3 downs!!" I'll just ask why? If we're a developmental league then why play different rules on a different field for guys wanting to make the NFL? Go full bore American & be done with it as it's better for the players anyway.

I never said or implied any of that - that's your hyperbole.  I just don't think the CFL can expect any kind of compensation from the NFL - it's not realistic.

[Booch]

48 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

I never said or implied any of that - that's your hyperbole.  I just don't think the CFL can expect any kind of compensation from the NFL - it's not realistic.

In the past NFL teams have compensated cfl teams financially for players in a few instances...we actually had that here...that wide receiver..Tamarack Vanover I believe??

[Bigblue204]

Why would the NFL compensate the CFL? 

Honestly....why would they?

[wbbfan]

22 minutes ago, Bigblue204 said:

Why would the NFL compensate the CFL? 

Honestly....why would they?

League wide how many guys do we send to the nfl? 10 maybe into tc total on average maybe? How many of their guys do we get into our camp? 250-300? Both cases guys out of contract that either league could sign if they wanted. 
 The nfl could do the nfle in the us, or expand their developmental /pr system 10 more spots per team again and crush us.