(Toronto) Negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement between the Canadian Football League and the Ambrosie Circuit Players’ Association are off to an encouraging start.
Posted at 5:59 p.m.
These negotiations were resumed on Monday. So far the two parties have been able to hold constructive meetings, some secondary points have even been settled.
It would be very positive if that were the case, because the negotiations have been rather acrimonious, even contentious, in the past. Discussions about the most important points — monetary issues, in particular — have still not taken place and time is running out: the collective agreement expires on May 14, the day before the scheduled opening of training camps .
Can this cooperation last or will the discussions take the hostile tangent they have taken in the past?
One point that works in favor of the CFL and the AJLCF in these current negotiations is the familiarity that exists around the table. The league and the union have been holding meetings since the conclusion of the 2018 season, when they gave birth to this employment contract.
In 2020, they came together again to amend the convention in preparation for a shortened season that ultimately didn’t happen. They had more success last year and were able to agree on the terms of a 14-game season.
This time, the discussions are not about amendments, but a new employment contract.
CFL fans would love to see an end to the constant movement of personnel across the league, with most free agents signing only one-year contracts. The players say they want to sign longer-term agreements, if they are respected. Too often in the past, players signing such contracts have been cut after a season or forced to accept a significant salary cut.
The way things look right now, players don’t see much benefit in committing long term. This could change if the teams give certain guarantees for the subsequent years of the contracts.
Who knows ? Perhaps some would accept less per season for the guarantee of remaining in the same place for two or three years.
Another issue to watch is revenue sharing with the league’s nine teams. There’s also the deal with Genius Sports, a sports data and technology company that provides data management, video streaming and integrity services to sports leagues, bookmakers and media companies. Several leaders are optimistic about its potential.
Genius Sports is now a financial partner of the CFL. Will the players be incorporated into this agreement or will they feel like pawns that can be disposed of at will?
Last season, the CFL’s salary cap was 5.35 million. The union will surely want to see this amount increased, while the league will probably argue that revenues have been down for the past two campaigns, undermined by the pandemic.
This is another discussion that will be interesting to follow.
The AJLCF strongly believes that there is an imbalance between the players and the league. Although the league and its clubs have worked hard to make the necessary changes, they have yet to do so with their main partner.
For the first time in a long time, contract negotiations between the two parties seem positive. A good foundation seems to have been established over the past few years, which suggests that things are now being done differently.
How these negotiations are conducted will no doubt determine whether the CFL and its players become partners or whether the players will once again be sidelined.