It’s looking like the CFL will start its season on time.
Reports out of Toronto are that the CFL and its Players Association have found a common ground in their ongoing battle to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement. The previous CBA had expired on May 29 and the CFLPA was on the cusp of going on strike, with seven of nine teams in the league giving the thumbs up on a work stoppage last week.
The Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders voted on a strike on Saturday, in line with Alberta labour laws. Calgary and Edmonton could have gone on strike on Tuesday, while the rest of the league was poised to strike as early as Sunday, ahead of the first preseason game of the year, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts on Monday.
Both sides met Friday after a tense week where the league had publicly dug its heels in on its CBA offer. Last-minute discussions began on Friday and continued through Saturday, with a tentative deal apparently being struck after 11 p.m. ET. TSN’s Matt Scianitti said the deal was in place, pending player ratification on its terms.
After a conference call #CFLPA has verbally agreed to terms on a tentative deal for a new CBA w the #CFL, pending ratification by players—
Matthew Scianitti (@TSNScianitti) June 08, 2014
Terms of the deal have quickly leaked out.
A #CFL source tells me the tentative agreement has a cap of $5 mil in 2014; $5.05 mil in 2015. "Very disappointing for us," said a player.—
Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) June 08, 2014
The CFL’s board of governors must also vote on the new deal, as was detailed in a statement released from the league on behalf of both parties.
“A tentative agreement has been reached between the Canadian Football League and the Canadian Football League Players’ Association on a new collective agreement,” the statement said. “It is pending ratification by a vote of the Players and the CFL’s Board of Governors, which will be scheduled as soon as possible. Further details will not be made public until these votes have taken place.”
The players entered talks with a demand on revenue sharing, in light of the good fortunes the league has seen in the last four years. In that time, B.C. and Edmonton refurbished their stadiums. Winnipeg opened a new stadium last season and Hamilton will follow suit this year. Ottawa has rejoined the league and will play in a refurbished TD Place this year as well. Saskatchewan will have a new stadium in 2017. On top of that, TSN inked a five-year deal with the league worth an average of $42 million annually.
The league refused to budge on that issue, with CFL commissioner Mark Cohon going as far as to say on May 21 that the PA’s offer at the time threatened the existence of the league. Even this past week, Cohon dug his heels in on the offer made to the players.
“We have made our best offer and continue to believe the CFLPA should allow its members to vote on our offer,” Cohon had said in a statement. “The most recent CFLPA proposal, which was presented to us (June 2) through the mediator, would not form the basis of a settlement as it was unrealistic.
“Our offer increases the average player salary by 16% in 2014, to more than $96,000 per player, and significantly reduces the number of padded practices throughout the season. Our proposal also includes ratification bonuses of $5,000 for veteran players and $1,500 for rookies (effective at the time through June 6). We are confident that our offer is fair to the players and would allow us to continue to build our league while not jeopardizing the positive momentum we have collectively achieved over the last several years.”
Negative player reaction followed.
How it works in the 21st century: Unions are dead.—
Jon Cornish (@jonnycornish) June 08, 2014
What happened to #UnitedWeStand ? @CFLPA—
Mr. Price is Right (@MauricePrice17) June 08, 2014
That was a waste of time—
Alex Suber (@2ndSeven777) June 08, 2014
Former Eskimo and current Tiger-Cat Simoni Lawrence offered a different take on the matter.
I never really cared I just want to play football….—
Simoni Lawrence (@Simoni_Lawrence) June 08, 2014
The Eskimos are scheduled to host the B.C. Lions on Friday, June 13 in their first preseason game. Edmonton starts its season on the road in Vancouver against the Lions on June 28.
