NEW LEAGUE NO THREAT TO CFL
Homegrown talent will sustain Canadian loop as NFL light spring football kicks off
The soft spot in Bill Polian’s heart, that special place reserved for the CFL, has neither hardened nor shrunk during this foray into spring football. It’s a fact that the league he co-founded with Charlie Ebersol — the eight-team Alliance of American Football — is in direct competition for players with CFL teams. With 52-man rosters, the AAF has provided jobs for 416 American players, many of whom were on CFL negotiation lists, some of whom would surely have signed with CFL teams for the 2019 season and beyond. But Polian has seen the CFL survive and even thrive as the United States Football League, World League of American Football and XFL came and went in spectacular fashion. And while he surely hopes the AAF enjoys a much longer and more successful run than any of those entities, he doesn’t fear for the future of the CFL. “The CFL is such a unique game, and because it doesn’t rely totally on imports, there is a pool of players who totally belong to the CFL,” Polian said Friday, on the eve of the AAF’s opening game here on Saturday. “And there are quarterbacks, for example, that are unique to the CFL, of which there are many coming out of school. There aren’t enough spots in our league for that kind of quarterback. Like the NFL, we gravitate toward the bigger ones. You do want athletic ability, but the little guy who can throw and run, I mean, there is a home for him in the CFL. “In the long run, (the CFL) will be fine. They are better positioned than almost anyone else because of the Canadian player base.” He assured CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie of that very thing when the two had a long conversation last fall. “We have a good relationship,” said Polian. “We’ll be as supportive of them as we can. We allowed their scouts into our camp. Obviously, if they want credentials for the games, they can get them.” Polian knows pretty much everyone who is anyone in pro football. He worked in the USFL, in Montreal and Winnipeg of the CFL, in Buffalo, Carolina and Indianapolis of the NFL. At age 76 and already entrenched in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he didn’t need this job. But when he was presented by Ebersol with an opportunity to walk the walk, after talking the talk for the longest time, he had to go all in. And his experience in the CFL played a role in his decision making. “For years and years I’ve been talking on television and radio about the need for a spring developmental league for the NFL. When the World League went away, we lost a great opportunity
(The players) come in and say, ‘Man this looks and feels like the NFL.’ Obviously, the pay cheque isn’t the same, but everything else is at least close to it.”
to build not only players, but officials, coaches, staff people, front office people, with a real accent on the ability of minorities to move fast. “I’ve often said my experience in the CFL was the most valuable experience of my career because I had to scout and learn professional football in Montreal, and then in Winnipeg, I had to do a lot of everything, because that’s just the nature of it. “I’ve advised any number of kids who come to me and ask, ‘How do I get into professional football?’ I say if you get a chance to go to the CFL, go, because they’re small front office staffs and you learn every facet of the business, you’re exposed to every facet of the business, and you’ll be far better off because of the experience. “But there are only so many spots in the CFL and many of them belong to Canadians, and rightly so. So here we’ve got an opportunity to provide those experiences to young people who want to get into the game at the highest level. So that’s the motivation.” What he and Ebersol have built, and it’s an advantage over the previous incarnations of spring football, is NFL light. Ebersol said they have 500 years of NFL experience between executives like Polian, GMs like Daryl Johnston here with the Commanders, and coaches like Mike Singletary.
“The overwhelming majority of people in this league have NFL experience, so we all speak the same language, we all understand what the game is all about at the highest level, we understand what challenges the players face,” said Polian.
“And I sensed this from the players. They come in and say, ‘Man this looks and feels like the NFL.’ Obviously, the paycheque isn’t the same, but everything else is at least close to it.”