DOLLARS AND SENSE
Another look at the CFL cap debate
Editorial managers at this fine newspaper may soon face the imperative of imposing a cap on columns about the cap.
In the meantime, and in between time, we are pleased to bring you (cue fanfare) The Cap: Part 2.
In Saturday’s bestselling edition of the Regina Leader-post, it was written that the CFL’S new football-operations salary cap is a great idea.
Several valued readers responded with their view that the column was a horrible idea.
However, the volume (and, in select cases, venom) of the feedback certainly conveyed the impression that the topic is of the hot-button variety.
Hence the compulsion to weigh in yet again, concentrating on another oft-overlooked aspect of the “to cap or not to cap?” debate.
On Saturday, the point was made that the newly imposed salary ceiling was a sound move in light of circumstances that have, at times, imperilled the league’s viability.
The CFL will never be home free financially, so it is eminently reasonable to install some checks on actual or anticipated excesses.
It was also noted in this space that players’ salaries are capped so, as a matter of fairness, the compensation of coaches, GMS, et al, should also be subject to certain parameters.
Much of the pushback is from people who contend that the calibre of play will be adversely affected by the presence of fewer (or cheaper) coaches and/or personnel people. That argument is not unreasonable.
The emergence of a new league (the Alliance of American Football) and the resuscitation of Vince Mcmahon’s XFL will also increase the competition for players, it is argued. And who’s to disagree?
But here’s the forgotten element: In a competitive football environment, money will often be the determining factor when a player has multiple options.
If the CFL is attractive from a financial perspective, it can continue to be a haven for talented American players.
With that in mind, the league and the CFL Players’ Association cannot afford to settle for a nominal increase in the salary cap.
Ultimately, players’ salaries will affect the talent base a great deal more than the capped compensation of people who stock or choose the rosters.
If the minimum salary continues to be in the vicinity of $54,000, how enticing will the CFL be for an American player who is not ready for prime time?
If the CFL allows itself to be routinely outbid for players, the product will unquestionably suffer.
That is not to discount the need for personnel people who possess a keen eye for talent, but they are not the be-all and endall when it comes to preserving, let alone enhancing, the quality of the CFL game.
Some general managers, such as Eric Tillman, do not require highly paid personnel people or a small army of scouts in order to add talent.
Tillman, who has a wealth of contacts throughout the United States, can often find a player by simply placing a phone call or sending a text message.
The larger consideration, in this view, pertains to whether the value of a CFL contract will be sufficient in the hearts and minds of players and their agents, given the changing landscape in the United States.
We have seen this before, remember.
Flash back to the winter of 1983, when Saskatchewan Roughriders star receiver Joey Walters tested free agency at the same time the United States Football League was preparing for its inaugural season.
Walters, who was coming off seasons in which he registered 1,715 and 1,692 receiving yards, had reached agreement with the Roughriders on a dollar figure.
The snag, though, was that Walters wanted to be paid in American dollars. The Roughriders would only offer Canadian pesos.
The situation proved to be irresolvable. Walters went on to become one of the elite players in the three-year history of the USFL. If the Roughriders could have provided a little sweetener in the form of some extra dollars, he would have stayed. He loved it here.
How many comparable situations are likely to arise now that American players have more options?
CFL general managers had best be ready to deal with players and agents who have a broadened range of options.
In order to make the CFL more attractive, it would behoove league operatives to push for the players’ salary cap to increase from the current $5.2 million to the $6-million range.
Conveniently enough, teams are likely to derive some savings due to the football-operations salary cap. Why not transfer some of those freed-up dollars to the players?
They are the show, after all. Nobody pays to see a coach, GM or director of player personnel. But everyone pays when one of the league’s gate attractions heads elsewhere.
Again, we rewind to 1983. The Roughriders’ offence stagnated in the absence of Walters, whose popularity was a drawing card. Sellout crowds, which were virtually assured in 1981 and 1982, became a rarity thereafter.
Back then, the Roughriders did not spend a bundle on player-personnel types, but then- GM John Herrera was able to hire two up-and-comers — Dan Rambo and Tim Ruskell.
Ruskell scouted for Saskatchewan in 1983 and 1984 before spending the next two years with the USFL’S Tampa Bay Bandits.
From 1987 to 2017, he worked in the NFL in various capacities — most notably with the Seattle Seahawks as their general manager from 2005 to 2009.
He is now the GM of the Orlando Apollos, one of the eight AAF teams that is to begin play Feb. 9.
As for Rambo, he also blossomed into an elite personnel man — someone who played a key role in building the Roughriders’ championship team of 1989.
Among his discoveries was a promising quarterback named Kent Austin.
While with Saskatchewan, Ruskell and Rambo did not command enormous salaries. In fact, Rambo was nearly a casualty of the Roughriders’ cash crunch of 1987.
Financial clout was not a reason why the Roughriders were able to employ fine football minds such as Rambo and Ruskell.
However, money was the primary reason the Roughriders could not retain a phenomenally popular and productive receiver.
In a competitive situation, a team can still employ talented player-personnel people. But when the league starts losing premier players for financial reasons, then the situation becomes worrisome.
So pay the players, first and foremost.
They are the ones who take the hits on the field. It would be wise to keep the financial hits to a minimum.