CFL traverses fine line with Canadian ratio
Commissioner Ambrosie says alteration shows confidence in homegrown talent
Some Canadian Football League fans look at the new collective bargaining agreement and find the settlement unsettling for its dilutive effect on the ratio.
But where they see erosion, others predict evolution; that the steady rise of Canadian talent at several positions will eventually create enough depth to ward off the predicted incursion of nationalized Americans. That scenario may well be expedited if both the XFL and USFL grab a foothold and consistently siphon off high-level American talent.
Still other CFL observers may never be bothered to make the distinction between a nationalized American and homegrown Canadian, at least as far as it serves their team's success and their own fandom.
Committees for the CFL and its players' association tiptoed through those divergent demographics to settle on a ratio-altering formula that takes effect in 2023, when the number of Canadian starters jumps from seven to eight, but one can be a nationalized American.
In addition, two nationalized Americans can play up to 49 per cent of the snaps for a Canadian starter that year. The CFL has the option to make it three nationalized Americans in the rotation in 2024 and beyond.
By definition, a nationalized American is a player starting his sixth season in the CFL or fourth with his current club. Most of them are already starters.
The deal maintains 21 Canadians and at least seven starters on each roster throughout the seven-year term, and incentivizes teams to play homegrown talent by redirecting two second-round territorial draft picks to teams with the highest number of Canadian snaps. The ratio was easily the most contentious item contained in a multi-faceted CBA that broke ground on revenue sharing and partly guaranteed contracts for veterans, provided extended medical coverage and health and safety programming, salary equality for global players, and a seat for players on the board of CFL Ventures, the league's new commercial unit that will be at the forefront of growth initiatives.
Partnerships, prosperity and labour peace are fine and dandy, but in the immediate afterglow of this deal, the CFL has been forced to defend a desire to alter the starting ratio in the name of flexibility for coaching staffs.
“I think we should be absolutely clear, we protected 21 jobs for our Canadian players and that's fundamental to who we are,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said Friday. “We are not saying Canadians can't play. What we are saying is Canadians can compete and it's a fact in every sport on the planet today.”
The CFL backed away more than once from more radical alterations than the one ratified by players on Thursday.
The league's initial proposal, which was not taken seriously by the CFLPA, provided no Canadian ratio protection at all.
The two sides initially came to a complex compromise; proposing as many as three nationalized Americans, all designated imports, playing up to 49 per cent of a Canadian starter's snaps. The CFLPA membership rejected the entire deal based on opposition to that change. The CFL came back with a six-andone formula, the CFLPA dug in its heels, and the end result on the ratio was achieved.