Alouettes GM Maciocia says his team won’t be near top of 2021 CFL salary cap

Danny Maciocia is still crunching the numbers. but the Montreal Alouettes general manager is certain his ‘21 budget for player salaries will be under the CFL-mandated salary cap.

The cap remains at $5.35 million, as per the league’s collective bargaining agreement. But the floor is $4.75 million and with the CFL having cancelled the ‘20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are taking a much harder look at their spending as they prepare for the 2021 campaign.

“I’m not really in a position to tell you exactly where we’re going to be at,” Maciocia said during a videoconference Tuesday. “We’re not going to be at $5.3 (million), that’s a given.

“We run every single contract through our team president (Mario Cecchini) so our president and ownership group know exactly what we’re handing out as far as contracts are concerned and there are no surprises. For everyone to get approved we need our team president to put his stamp of approval on it, so it’s hard for me to say where we’re going to be at. What I can tell you right now as we sit here and discuss it, we’re definitely not going to be at $5.3 million.”

Maciocia said the global pandemic has created a different dynamic for CFL teams and their players.

“It’s a new reality we’re dealing with,” he said. “Certainly we want to field a competitive team, which we’ll be able to do.”