CFL is fighting for U.S. talent

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This article was published 26/05/2024 (532 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Most of the American newcomers at Blue Bombers training camp share something in common: they took their talents to a spring league first.

Before venturing up north to Canada, the XFL, USFL, or UFL (which is the recently merged XFL-USFL) is where a lot of talent attempts to extend their pro football careers after their NFL dreams are crushed.

The CFL is no longer the obvious backup plan.

“You’re talking about guys going to a foreign country to try to earn a job when they could try to earn a job in their own (country), sometimes even their hometown,” said head coach Mike O’Shea after Sunday’s practice as the Bombers prepare for Friday’s exhibition at home against Calgary.

“I think it’s pretty obvious they’d explore those opportunities first… It’s the era we’re in right now. We deal with it. I don’t spend a lot of time being concerned about it.”

When defensive end Willie Jefferson was released by the NFL’s Buffalo Bills in 2014, the CFL was really his only option — unless he wanted to try his hand at indoor football — and he ended up in Edmonton.

If Jefferson, now 33, was trying to find his way today, it seems unlikely he would ever make it up here when the UFL has three teams — Houston, Arlington, and San Antonio — all in his home state.

“If they had the USFL or XFL going on then, like maybe (I would’ve gone there). But I don’t know, I feel like me coming to the CFL is the best thing that could’ve happened,” said Jefferson, who now lives in Winnipeg.

“With me being up here as long as I have, I give young guys that are coming out of college who are looking at the UFL, I can give them insight (on the CFL). They’ll be like ‘I don’t know if I want to come up there and play football. What’s it like?’ And I just try to make it sound appealing to them. You can still play football the way you want to play football up here in Canada, get you some money, take care of your family, make a name for yourself, be in front of thousands of fans. That’s the stuff you actually play for when you play football, and you can still get that out here.”

Fellow defensive end Chauncey Rivers suited up for four games with the Green Bay Packers in 2021 before a torn ACL derailed his career. He spent 2023 in the XFL and was cut in March by the Birmingham Stallions one week before the UFL kicked off.

The money is similar (UFL average salary is around US$54,000 while the CFL’s league minimum is C$70,000), so for Rivers, it boiled down to O’Shea’s point: playing closer to home. Now in the Manitoba capital, the Atlanta, Ga., product believes the CFL is the place to be.

“This is way better. They don’t have their own stadiums and the facilities aren’t the same as what you’re getting here. There’s certain things as a football player that you need: hot tub, cold tub, all the treatment you can get, you need those things to be successful. They had some, but not near the amount that you need,” said Rivers. “The XFL was kind of like a summer league. You don’t have time to get everything together… There’s no pre-season games, it’s a month of training camp, then you go straight into the season. There’s not really that time where you can evaluate your players and get them ready for a good season.”

The St. Louis Battlehawks have by far the best fan support in the UFL with over 34,000 customers per game, but the other seven clubs boast an average weekly attendance of around 10,000. Even with those lukewarm numbers, the UFL likely isn’t going anywhere as it has more financial backing than any other spring football league in history, plus two major broadcast partners in Fox Sports and Disney/ESPN.

Based off what receiver Myron Mitchell, who appeared in a game with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 before winning a USFL title with Birmingham in 2023, saw in last Monday’s tune-up in Regina against the Roughriders, he thinks the CFL has the edge in that category as well.

“The atmosphere was good, and it was only a pre-season game. I can honestly say there were more fans in the crowd there than a USFL/XFL game so that was the exciting part about it,” said Mitchell.

“I can’t wait to see what it looks like for a regular season game.”

The UFL also can’t broaden their horizons quite like the CFL can.

Running back Chris Smith was with the Seattle Seahawks for a mini camp before getting picked in the 2023 XFL Rookie Draft. He ended up getting released, without being given any notice, prior to training camp starting.

The 24-year-old from Mississippi, who played college football at Louisiana and is a finalist for the kick returner job, got the authentic Canadian experience on Day 1.

“The geese scared me a little bit when I first got here. I think one of them chased me down the road,” said Smith. “But other than that, it’s been great.”

It’s not uncommon to find a rookie who had never been outside of the United States before getting a call from the Blue and Gold. Hearing those stories is one of O’Shea’s favourite parts about camp.

“I think it’s an amazing opportunity for them to explore. It’s what young men should do,” said O’Shea. “Now that they got their passport, when the season is over, they should take off for two months and see what’s out there.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31