CFL SLAPS A CAP ON FRONT OFFICES
A football operations salary cap, which has been set at $2.738 million and comes into effect for the 2019 Canadian Football League season, is the brainchild of team presidents.
It was established by a working committee of presidents that first determined the high, low, average and median payrolls of football operations personnel throughout the league, shared that information with their peers, and then, in consultations with commissioner Randy Ambrosie and COO/CFO Greg Dick, decided on cap constraints.
The $2.738-million figure was neither the median nor the average of football operations compensation throughout the league, but rather a figure that’s “around those numbers,” according to a CFL source.
The league has capped the number of coaches at 11 and other football operations staff at 17, including the general manager, assistant GMs, player-personnel directors, scouts, therapists, and video and equipment staff.
Again, the committee first determined the high, low, median and average number of people in those positions before deciding on a head count.
The cap is a tangible response from team presidents to the CFL’s financial reality, as laid out by Ambrosie. He told Postmedia earlier this month that leaguewide revenues are increasing by 1.3 per cent while expenses are growing at a five per cent clip. Ambrosie first shared that information with team governors and presidents and was pleased with their response.
“What I’ve got is nine team presidents totally willing to lean in and help solve the problem and nine league governors totally committed to supporting an effort to making this a different business,” Ambrosie said.
League sources said the main goal is cost control, but they see the caps on coaching and football operations personnel as a levelling of the playing field, which is as an added benefit.
Some CFL teams will be affected significantly by the pending limitations on staff, Saskatchewan among them. Riders GM/ head coach Chris Jones said earlier this week the team would lose some coaches — they have 14 listed on their website — and the remaining staff would have to take a pay cut, himself included.
“It was made with the right thoughts in mind,” Jones said. “Whether that’s the exact way to do it, who knows? We will have to support it and see.”
Other teams, like the B.C. Lions, will be virtually unaffected.
“I looked at it, read it and wasn’t phased by it,” said Lions GM Ed Hervey, who previously held that title in Edmonton.
“For me, it’s not drastic at all. We have 10 (coaches). I’ve never exceeded those numbers here or in Edmonton. As far as getting to those numbers, we’ll be fine here.
“I have never employed or brought on extra people just for the sake of having people around. I’ve always operated within those numbers and was quite effective in doing so.”
He said he’s on board with the overriding principle behind the cap.
“I totally understand where the league is going with this. It’s basically a part of efficient business planning to ensure non-playing football costs are reasonable and well managed. I’ve never had a problem with that.”
Edmonton GM Brock Sunderland said he was advised by the team’s human resources personnel that he couldn’t discuss any specifics of the policy.
“What I’ll say is, we’re going to be compliant with it.”
The league also has a player salary management system, that’s been in place since the 2007 season. The cap for 2018 is $5.2 million. The 2019 cap will have to be negotiated as part of a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the CFL Players Association.
The league addressing nonplaying football operations sends a positive message to the CFLPA at a crucial time, given the old pact expires in mid-May 2019.
“It’s fair to say that, over the years, players have sometimes said we have a cap, but when we show up for camp each year we see additional coaches and additional staff,” said a league source.
Hervey, who praised the business acumen of CFLPA president Jeff Keeping and executive director Brian Ramsay, said the players should see positives in this new cost-control measure.
“I would hope it would send a positive message that the league is trying to make sure that costs don’t outpace revenues going forward. I think that’s the general feeling from the CFL.”
The CFL head office, meanwhile, operates on a budget determined by the league governors and distributes excess revenues to all nine teams.