Report: CFL, players’ union reach tentative agreement

The CFL and the players’ union had agreed to a new deal on May 19, ending a players’ strike that had started four days earlier.

The teams’ player reps reportedly recommended the deal to the union’s members, but the majority of the players who voted didn’t ratify the deal Monday and put the CFL’s pre-season and regular season in jeopardy.

Sticking points during negotiations included salary increases, a ratification bonus and the Canadian-American ratio.

The biggest issue there was the CFL was offering teams a chance to make American players “nationalized,” meaning they would count as Canadians. That could have cost Canadian players starting jobs.

After the players nixed the previous offer, the CFL responded with a take-it-or-leave-it offer that proposed reducing the number of Canadian starters from seven to six.

3DownNation and Green Zone CFL analyst Justin Dunk said he has more optimism around this deal getting the players’ seal of approval.

“I believe the Canadians and their votes in terms of the players and their voices were heard,” Dunk said. “Those were the two major factors — the lack of a ratification bonus and what was going to potentially happen to the ratio in the previous agreement that was voted down.

“It will have a much better success rate if those 30 per cent who abstained from voting actually cast a ballot.”

TSN’s Farhan Lalji is reporting this new deal will have two nationalized Americans per team beginning in 2023 and those players will be eligible to play 49 per cent of snaps. The number of those players could increase to three in 2024.

“The Canadian players feel like even if you go from seven (Canadian starters) to six, you’re going in the wrong direction,” Dunk said. “It used to be 10 a long time ago, but it hasn’t gone down from seven at all.

“The Canadians feel like if you chip away that to six, maybe next time it goes down to five or four because we know the CFL wants to take it all the way down.”

Lalji is also reporting the two teams that have the highest number of Canadian players taking snaps will get an additional second-round CFL draft pick.

A $1.25-million ratification bonus appears to have also been added, according to Lalji.

After the four-day-long strike ended, the Saskatchewan Roughriders started training camp at Griffiths Stadium on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

The Roughriders took the day off Thursday, but are expected back on the field Friday.

The strike forced the CFL to postpone Saskatchewan’s pre-season opener against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, which was to be played Victoria Day in Regina. Instead, that game now is scheduled for Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium.

The CFL’s pre-season is set to open Friday with two games.

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by CKOM News

Report: CFL, players’ union reach tentative agreement

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