…and precisely why Elimimian has an “opt-out” clause structured in 3 separate 1 year contracts.
[b]“I didn’t even want him (Elimimian) to extend (with Lions),? admitted Bardia Ghahremani, the agent for the CFL’s most outstanding player.
“I wanted to bring him south (NFL) yesterday. He wasn’t just an all-star. He was the best player in the league.
I’ve never known a player to grow up and want to play in the Canadian Football League. That’s just the reality of it.
I think it’s a great platform to get to the next level. The CFL is headed in the right direction. But there’s a major discrepancy in the pay scale. And Solly wants to compete at the highest level.?[/b]
I guess Eliminian's agent never met Jason Clermont who said he always dreamed about playing in the CFL when he was a kid (and turn down several tryout offers in the NFL)...and Luke Tasker who turned down a Packer contract last week to sign for 3-years in Hamilton...and Chad Owens who turned down a Jets contract which included a reported signing bonus to sign long-term with the Argos...and K. Mitchell who turned down a Dolphin's contract which included a reported 6-figure bonus to sign in the Lions. Khalif said he was proud to play in the CFL and really enjoyed playing here. There was another American player (whose name escapes me) who signed with Hamilton a couple years ago, who said he followed the CFL since he was a kid and always dreamed about playing here. I guess Bardia should move back to Armenia and represent cricketers if he can't be better informed about North America football players.
Truth be told...CFL players dub the CFL as "Cash Flow Low" but also dub the NFL as "Not For Long" So there's a lot of decisions being made regarding their careers. it would be a tough one regardless I think.
Of course his agent would like the CFL to be able to pay much higher wages, they'd love bidding wars for players, more money for everyone. I get that. Sounds like his agent is just frustrated compared with soccer where there are so many leagues that can pay high wages. But that's the reality, get over agent, gridiron isn't really a world-wide sport and you are lucky that another league besides the NFL even exists.
He also sounds somewhat jealous of the CFL providing what could be a more humane way of playing gridiron where they actually tell players you're not going to make a ton of money in the CFL so plan for a career and take that career outside of football serious. The NFL it's probably all about "making the dream money" and you're set for life if you sign an NFL contract, whatever NFL contract. Problem is though there are so many players not set for life even though they did sign an NFL contract. Of course that type of agent would never say that in public.
I hate to break it to Elimimian's agent but no NFL team will be interested in a 28 year-old linebacker that will soon turn 29. It isn't that he isn't capable of playing in the NFL but his window has closed and he will be playing the rest of his career in the CFL.