CFL commissioner to step down
Jeffrey Orridge will remain on the job until June 30, unclear why he’s leaving
Two years into his tenure, Jeffrey Orridge is out as the Canadian Football League’s commissioner.
The CFL broke the news in a press release Wednesday morning, explaining Orridge would remain on the job until June 30 before he and the league “part ways.”
League officials aren’t commenting publicly on the end of the relationship, and their published statement is thin on concrete details. But the news release hints at a conflict between Orridge, a U.S.-born sports marketing executive who once headed CBC Sports, and the CFL’s board of directors.
“While the board and I have differing views on the future of the league, we both believe passionately in this game, its players, its partners and its fans. I wish the CFL great success in the future,” Orridge said in the news release.
CFL spokesperson Paulo Senra said the league won’t elaborate on reasons for the split with Orridge, who was hired in March 2015.
Orridge, a Harvard-educated marketing executive who also headed campaigns at Reebok and USA Basketball, didn’t immediately return a call to his cellphone.
Orridge assumed the CFL’s top job four months after the January 2015 departure of Mark Cohon, who had run the league since 2007, and leaves behind a legacy as a sports business pioneer, as well as stubborn problems for his successor to solve.
While he grew up in Queens, N.Y., Orridge told reporters upon his hiring he had always admired the CFL because of its progressive record on race, noting African-American players like Warren Moon were allowed to shine at quarterback when NFL teams wanted to convert them to receivers or defensive backs. And in taking the job, Orridge became the first black commissioner of a mainstream North American pro sports league.
As commissioner he stressed further diversity, participating in To- ronto’s Pride Parade, while the league worked with LGBTQ sports advocacy group You Can Play on an apparel line and hosted an LGBTQthemed party during Grey Cup week last November.
But Orridge appeared less than progressive during a state-of-the-CFL news conference Grey Cup week, when he refused to admit a relationship between football and degenerative brain diseases like CTE.
Still, his willingness to cultivate non-traditional audiences exemplifies the marketing acumen that appeared to qualify Orridge for the CFL’s stiffest challenge: growing the league as attendance and TV ratings decline.
The dilemma predates Orridge’s tenure.
In 2012, CFL games drew an average attendance of 28,193, according to CFLdb.ca, compared with 24,737 in 2015, Orridge’s first year on the job. By last season that number had dropped to 24,692.
Meanwhile, the 2016 Grey Cup in Toronto reportedly drew the smallest TV audience since 2006.
While the league pointed out that the Grey Cup’s online audience grew 35 per cent over the previous year, the well-documented struggle to sell tickets to its marquee matchup highlighted how far Orridge and the CFL still were from solving their toughest puzzle: Toronto.
In a December interview with the Star, Orridge sounded optimistic about the CFL’s future in its biggest city, emphasizing improved season ticket sales and TV ratings.
“We’re . . . very confident that the Argos can build on that progress,” Orridge said.
“There are more people checking out the Argos than have been previously. Those are all good indicators that we’ve got some good traction.” But even after moving to BMO Field the Argos finished last in the CFL in attendance, drawing just 16,380 per game.
The league isn’t discussing details about how and when they’ll find a successor.
In an email to the Star, CFL spokesperson Senra said only that “the board will be discussing this matter and they’ll move forward appropriately.