Signing bonus ban not going anywhere
CFL commish asks for new CBA first
The CFL won’t be extending an olive branch to its players before the start of contract talks.
Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said he has no plans to overturn the league’s directive that teams not pay players bonuses this offseason until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. The current deal expires May 15, 2019.
Many CFL players receive upfront money in the form of either a signing or roster bonus as part of their contracts. They can still sign deals this off-season, but won’t receive any negotiated bonuses until after a new CBA is ratified.
“It’s in place and I don’t anticipate it being removed,” Ambrosie said. “I think its intention is honourable.
“It was designed to encourage the parties to come together and get a CBA done as fast and efficiently as we can.”
Former commissioner Jeffrey Orridge issued the directive in early 2017. Ambrosie succeeded Orridge that year and kept the directive in place.
That has drawn the ire of the CFL Players Association, which thinks the directive makes it nearly impossible to start positive discussions between the two sides.
“This is a provocative act by an employer that should be striving for goodwill and good faith going into bargaining,” CFLPA executive director Brian Ramsay said. “It’s incendiary and it’s unfortunate, but our plan is to bargain a fair and reasonable agreement and that’s our focus.”
Ambrosie spent nine seasons in the CFL as an offensive lineman and feels that gives him a unique perspective.
“I like to think my personal relationship with the players based on my passion for what they do is as high as anyone in a position like mine in the world of sports,” he said. “I know in the long run the way for us all to win — fans, players, the league, teams — is to grow the game, make it bigger and stronger.
“I think it’s that spirit that will be working together this winter.”
Traditionally, general managers have looked to re-sign players to new deals that could include fiveor six-figure signing bonuses. CFL contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, but players can keep bonus money even if released afterward.
There’s no financial benefit for teams as all cash paid to players counts against the cap. But if franchises have cap space at season’s end, some general managers use it to pay bonuses and help reduce their cap hit the following year.
The ability to offer bonuses also allows general managers to sweeten the pot for their top players, helping to prevent them from bolting to another team. Often in CFL free agency there’s little difference between competing offers, so upfront money becomes a powerful negotiating tool.
Not all general managers are fans of off-season bonuses, because in the past players have taken the money and then retired with no obligation to pay back the cash. That was the case last off-season when veteran quarterback Darian Durant retired after receiving a $70,000 signing bonus from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and didn’t give it back.
Some general managers prefer having players report to camp and pass a physical before receiving their bonus.