Lions star linebacker Solomon Elimimian is one of 24 B.C. players heading to free agency
Lions linebacker one of 24 B.C. players headed to free agency
As much as anyone, Solomon Elimimian knows and understands the contradictions in professional football.
On the one hand, the game forms bonds among teammates that last a lifetime. On the other, those bonds can be severed on the whim of a coach or general manager.
On the one hand, a team is built on self-sacrifice and loyalty. On the other, the team’s sense of loyalty can be as fleeting as a spring shower.
In seven years in the CFL, Elimimian has come to know these things. During a revealing session with the media Tuesday, he talked wistfully about the Lions’ 2011 Grey Cup team and those men he bled for and with: Aaron Hunt, Eric Taylor, Anton McKenzie, Dante Marsh, Korey Banks. Great teammates. Great friends. They’re all gone now. “Every year you see guys you built something with and they leave,” Elimimian said as the Lions cleaned out their lockers and erased the last vestiges of the 2016 season. “That’s one thing about football. At some point, we’re all going to exit the same door we came in.”
And one day, Elimimian will walk out that door. The only question is, will that day come sooner rather than later?
“I’ll let things play out as they’re going to play out,” Elimimian said. “This is a special place for me but, as you know, a lot of this isn’t in my control. Would I like to be back? I’d like to be back. But it’s a business first and both parties have to want the same thing.”
With the wounds still fresh from their mauling in Calgary Sunday, the Lions now contemplate an off-season that has the potential to alter the look and feel of the team in 2017.
There are 24 players headed to free agency, including the following starters from this season: linebacker Elimimian, defensive end Alex Bazzie, defensive tackle Mic’hael Brooks, receiver Bryan Burnham, punter Richie Leone, linebacker Bo Lokombo, guard Hunter Steward, running backs Anthony Allen and Jeremiah Johnson, receiver Marco Iannuzzi, fullback Rolly Lumbala, defensive lineman Jabar Westerman and defensive back Keynan Parker.
Throw in defensive back Ronnie Yell and receiver Nick Moore, who missed most of the season with injuries, and each of those players represents a huge decision for Wally Buono and his staff.
Elimimian represents the biggest decision of them all.
The all-pro linebacker is coming off a standout year, but he’s also at that crossroads reached by so many CFL veterans before him. His body of work — the league’s most outstanding player in 2014, the West’s nominee as defensive player of the year in 2016 — commands top dollar in the CFL, about $225,000 per year. But in a salary-cap league where the supply of players exceeds the demand, his salary also makes him vulnerable.
Put it this way: The Lions can find someone who’ll work a lot cheaper than Elimimian. He might not be the same player with the same charisma and the same name recognition in this market. But unless you’re a franchise quarterback, those other considerations are usually superseded by financial ones in the Canadian game.
This, then, is the dilemma faced by Elimimian and the Lions. Last year, his contract was restructured and he took a bit of a pay cut. That got him to free agency this season but it also seems Elimimian is through giving out home-team discounts.
As for the Lions, it will be difficult to let the team’s best defensive player and one of its few stars walk away, especially after the strides the team made this year. No one was tipping their hand Tuesday, but when you parsed Buono’s comments, there was a message there.
“Depth is critical and the salary cap makes it tough,” Buono said. “When you look at other teams, maybe they have more depth because they have fewer players who make big, big money.
“You look at the Calgary Stampeders. You wonder why they’re good. Well, they’re built on a different format. They have more depth. They have more players they pay full salaries to because they don’t have the high-price guys that take up a lot of the cap.” Just in case you missed the point: “We know the value of Solomon. That’s not going to be the issue. The issue is going to be trying to keep this team as strong as we can.”
Elimimian seems at peace with his situation.
“When you’ve played in one place for seven years and you’ve accomplished the things I have, it’s about more than money,” he said. “At the same time, money is part of the business.
“I tell everyone, if I’m meant to be here next year, I’ll be here next year. If it’s in my control, I’ll be here next year. But it’s not in my control.”
Which is something else he’s learned in his career.
“Depth is critical and the salary cap makes it tough. When you look at other teams, maybe they have more depth because they have fewer players who make big, big money.” — Lions GM Wally Buono