MAJOR MARKETS FIXING ATTENDANCE ISSUES WITH TALENT
Public salary disclosures might help Lions, Argonauts expand dwindling fan bases
It can’t be a coincidence that CFL general managers in Toronto and Vancouver were prepared to throw big money around and let everyone know it.
They need to make some more noise in their markets.
The Argos drew flies to BMO Field last season, just 14,210 on average, while the Lions managed 19,975 at B.C. Place Stadium, a minuscule increase over 2017.
Though there may never be real hope for the Argos, who tread water in the wake of the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Blue Jays, in B.C. the executive, management and coaching teams are either brand new or one season into their tenure and optimism abounds.
So B.C. general manager Ed Hervey invested plenty of money and thought into his pursuit of former Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly, the fresh, marketable face of the franchise. Hervey cleared salary cap space for a groundbreaking contract offer and when it was signed Tuesday he sought and received Reilly’s permission to go public with terms of the deal; four years, $2.9 million.
“It was an idea that I felt was important to our fans, those who follow the CFL, those who casually follow the CFL and those who don’t know the CFL,” Hervey said in a phone interview with Postmedia Tuesday afternoon. “I felt the fans needed to see.
“The fan who doesn’t know the league all that well assumes every player makes $500 a game or $20,000 a year, that it’s rec ball. It’s not that. It’s professional football. I believe the significance of showing that (salary) shows that these players are well paid and this is a big deal for our organization and we’re investing in it.”
A day later, Argos GM Jim Popp told a Toronto radio station he outbid the Stampeders for quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to the tune of $500,000 over the four-year term offered by Calgary. He said the Argos believed Mitchell could “move the needle” in the CFL’S largest market.
Mitchell, who reportedly received $2.8 million over four years from the Stampeders, discussed some details of the Toronto offer with CFL.CA writer Chris O’leary.
“I think they offered 750,(000) in the first year and then basically going up by 50,(000) every year for however many years I wanted to sign for,” Mitchell told O’leary.
“It could have gotten ridiculous. But at that point, you don’t know if Popp tries to re-sign you to a different contract, renegotiate (later in the deal). Those numbers are all kind of fluff until you actually get to that year every year.”
Most fans don’t know what’s fluff and what’s real when it comes to CFL salaries because disclosure is non-existent. It’s a larger issue during the free-agency frenzy that grips the league each February. Numbers start to fly and though many of them are eventually proven accurate, the lack of formal disclosure opens each one to suspicion and speculation.
That said, is leaguewide public salary disclosure the solution?
“I’d have to think about that part,” said Hervey. “Showing salaries, some would say, legitimizes the league. It doesn’t seem to hurt the other leagues. But some would be hesitant to show the league’s minimum salary. I think that’s it, the drastic difference between the minimum salary and a proven player’s compensation.”
In 2018, the CFL’S minimum salary was $54,000. However, player agent Rob Fry said only a small percentage of Cflers are at that number and average compensation — which can include housing, signing, roster and performance bonuses — would be in the range of $80,000 or more.
He pays a membership fee to the CFL Players’ Association and receives compensation disclosures from them. It’s obviously crucial information for him in the job he does.
Fry said he hasn’t spent much time considering the merits of public disclosure, but concedes there might be value in it.
“When you only hear the odd numbers, I think it is really hard for people on the outside to understand what that even means in the context of a club and the way they structure their team,” said Fry. “Did that player make a lot or not? ... I think it would be good in that sense that it would help the outside understand certain values of contracts and what it means to that team or what it means on the market.”
Hervey said going public with the salaries of marquee players rather than those of all CFL players is useful.
“I can’t help but think that it only helps our league. It helps our cause. It sends a statement that there are real dollars being invested in the game that we love.”
CFL Players’ Association executive director Brian Ramsay, who will no doubt be pushing for wage increases during negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement next month, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
A statement from CFL chief communications officer Matt Maychak suggested there is no current push for public disclosure.
“While we’re always open to new ideas and discussing this issue with the CFLPA, this hasn’t been identified as an urgent priority for our clubs at this time when we are focused on several important priorities, including negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement with our players and implementation of our CFL 2.0 strategy,” said Maychak.
It was an idea that I felt was important to our fans, those who follow the CFL, those who casually follow the CFL and those who don’t know the CFL.