Not-so-quiet week of uncertainty

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This article was published 25/05/2022 (1202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was supposed to be a quiet week in the Canadian Football League, with business returning to usual following a rare player strike that lasted an uncomfortable four days.

News of a new tentative collective bargaining agreement finally put a halt to the labour stoppage, meaning players were back on the field. And in all the excitement of a potential return to talking about training camps and upcoming games rather than riffs between the two sides, we were led to believe that the CFL and CFL Players’ Association would simply vote it through.

Well, not so fast. As it turns out, not everyone was feeling the love of the new deal.

In the end, it was the players who would have the final say, ultimately voting against the new CBA and forcing the two sides back to the bargaining table. Now, they’re in another game of chicken — and the clock is ticking.

The CFL has proposed a new CBA for the players, who have until 11 p.m. CT Thursday night to approve it. If the CFLPA executive committee decides they don’t like the new version of the offer, they can skip even going forward with a vote and return to striking.

If they vote it down and decide to strike again, the CFL says it will withdraw their promise to house and feed players for training camp. If they vote it down but want to continue negotiations, the league has warned the CFLPA that they would start to roll back on some previously agreed upon issues.

Needless to say, it’s been anything but a quiet week for the league and its players. So, let’s get into the latest edition of CFL Rundown, with news, notes and analysis from the week that was in the three-down game.

1) There were two main issues that led to the deal being voted down, including the proposed changes to the Canadian ratio and, to a lesser degree, the omission of a ratification bonus. In the deal, the CFL wanted to keep it at seven Canadian starters but added an eighth that could be occupied by a “nationalized” Canadian. A “nationalized” Canadian is an American who has played on the same team for three consecutive years or has been in the CFL for five. It also permitted three more “naturalized” Canadians to play up to 49 per cent of the plays in a game

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2) My first thoughts were that the deal kept the same number of Canadian starters, which seemed good for preserving homegrown talent. It also seemed pretty rare that a club would have an American on their roster for three straight years or someone who has played in the CFL for five and was not already a starter.

3) But that’s not how many Canadian players viewed it. In fact, it’s the three additional “naturalized” Canadians that has them up in arms and feeling threatened of losing their jobs. After talking with several Canadian players, the feeling I got was that the deal was being viewed as the start of slowly eliminating Canadians from the game and none of them wanted to look back years from now and say they voted on the CBA that started it all.

4) My issue with this perspective is that of all the stories I’ve read and through my own talks with players, no one could really explain how it threatened Canadian jobs. Just that it would.

5) The new CBA being proposed has the usual seven Canadian starters, with one “naturalized” Canadian in the group and no others. This was part of an earlier version of a new CBA, and Canadians hated it. Not sure why they would like it now.

6) Then there’s the ratification bonus, which is exactly the way it sounds: a cash payout for ratifying the deal. TSN’s Dave Naylor says the league has added a $1 million payout to be shared among players eligible to vote. On that note, Naylor also added more than 400 rookie players, many of whom are American, were not permitted to vote. Which makes sense to me; they haven’t paid any union dues or been active in the league long enough to have an equal say.

7) I was kind of surprised to see many of my colleagues get visibly upset with Canadian players after the vote, going as far as sharing their clear displeasure over social media. When it comes to negotiating a new CBA, I’ll never tell someone what they should vote on or what’s best for them. I wouldn’t want anyone telling me what’s best for my job.

8) That said, I do agree with the suggestion that voting down the latest CBA has and will create further division between Canadian and American players. We’ve already seen a few Americans, including Hamilton’s Simoni Lawrence, one the league’s top defensive talents, go off on Twitter, questioning the work ethic and talent of Canadians. How many more feel that way, but just aren’t willing to voice it publicly?

9) If Americans are upset with the CBA being struck down, my advice is to encourage their fellow countrymen to vote. If you can believe it, between 30 and 35 per cent of eligible voters didn’t actually submit one. While I don’t have the exact numbers, I have no doubt a majority were Americans. My feeling is this deal would have been voted through had everyone casted a ballot.

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10) Many have viewed the failed vote as a major disconnect between the players and the executive committee of the CFLPA and player reps that represent them. After all, the CFLPA bargaining team and player reps endorsed the deal. But while I understand why someone would think that way, I just don’t think it’s as simple as that. If anything, it goes to show how unique each market is when it comes to their needs and priorities. I thought the CFLPA did a good job negotiating and playing hardball, and I don’t know if they could have had better leadership working for them.

11) As for the CFL, they aren’t happy with all the concessions they’ve made, and I know that frustration only got worse when the CBA was voted down. The league has taken their hits and I don’t believe they’re willing to take any more. I don’t see their threats as hollow.

12) Finally, some good news. I wholeheartedly believe a new CBA will pass and nothing will be affected any further. The weekend’s pre-season games will be played, and we won’t have to talk about CBA negotiations for years to come. I can’t bring myself to think of the alternative.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.