The time has come.
The league needs a franchise player exclusion rule under the cap.
I know people will say that’s what got the league in trouble in the 90’s.
It won’t now with the SMS and much higher TV dollars.
The Argos don't need a big-name franchise player, it needs a marquee promotional director, preferably one from the NFL, that shows Toronto NFL-only snobs — mostly in the media — that the CFL is worthy of big-name football respect, and gives them something to hang a story on on a more or less regular basis. Hire a Pro-football hall of famer to glad-hand at games and get in the face of TV cameras and microphones. Hire a new one every couple of years.
This combined with more subtle marketing efforts such as product placement in TV and movies will be ennui-busters in Toronto media centres.
This team needs to think outside the box more.
No. QB already get too much of the pie.
The problem as I see it, the QB with the top end type salary gets around $450K, leaving what around $4.5M for the rest of the players.
So lets average that with the remaining 45 man roster and we get $100K per.
Now with my suggestion the $5M cap would get an average for the 45 players at a about $111K.
The minimum salary can be bumped up to a more reasonable figure.
The CFL tried the marquee player rule but instead decided to include super-star salaries within the salary cap. I don't like the MLS scheme where one player makes $10M and the rest of the team $40k, or whatever. The current CFL system with all players included in the cap seems fairer. Teams can still sign hot-shot Americans but within the CFL salary structure and not try to outbid the NFL.
I don't quite see the benefit.
Who will teams be able to sign with an exemption that they can't already sign now? And if they do spend millions on one player, then it likely will hurt the bottom line for a lot of teams. And if some teams opt not to spend millions on one player while others do, then it will hurt competitive balance, which would hurt the bottom line with smaller TV ratings and gates.
If you want to raise the minimum salary, then just focus on that. The league could raise the cap a reasonable amount that all teams could afford in order to do that.
I don't think the Argos need some kind of NFL cred to sell. Rogers tried to sell NFL with the Bills and it didn't work. The other GTHA team down the highway is selling itself quite well with the "caretaker" approach to customer service instead. That, perhaps, is the model B&T would be wise to try to emulate. Anyways, I think the league should give them a few years to build their customer base before they try any drastic changes like bringing back marquee player exemptions.
Why do people on here always seem to think they know what is best for the CFL? What experience do any of us have at running a pro league? That's what I thought.
All this wasted thought would be better spent on our own lives, rather than empty speculation or hyperbole.
I don't see the Franchise player exemption going over well either.
Controlled player costs is something that helped turn the league around. An exemption is inflationary that can create a have/have not system which is not good for a 9 team league.
I think the DP exemptions that MLS has will bite them in the but once all of those expansion cheuqes are cashed. A similar system is not needed here.
They did this back in the 80s and it almost killed the league. No way in HELL the they'll ever do it again.
Perhaps because as fans of the league, we are in the unique position to determine what would make the league more entertaining, and what we see missing.
My problem with the OP's recommendation is that it's a solution looking for a problem. What problem will having a single high-salary player on the team solve? Is it a perception issue? A quality of play issue? A media attention issue? A "face of the team" issue? Once that is clear, then we can maybe have a discussion on possible solutions.
Or pay salaries in $US to make the CFL more attractive and maybe convince some players to stay. It would mean a 35% increase in the cap
I can't see it happening. Better off with the Atlantic Schooner plan (10 teams, five games) and have two TV networks broadcasting games, so the salary cap increases...
Franchise player exclusion from SMS = Higher ticket prices
The salary cap needs to increase for the benefit of all players before this idea should be considered. Average salaries need to increase, and payment in American funds is a great way to do it.
If and when ESPN offers a paying TV contract, then it might be the time to consider marquee player salary cap exemptions. Brining in marquee players with ESPN money might go hand in hand.
Agree with you and especially since our dollar has gone south again and the American players are facing a 30% exchange.
Heck a guy like Franklin($55K) and there are others first year types are making minimum salary or just slightly above.
That’s really embarrassing.
That’s why the cap has to increase substantially to at least $6M.
My thought of the franchise player rule would be the same thing pretty much.
With a cap.
Paying salaries in US funds will never happen. It would really hurt the league.
With all of the league revenues are paid in Canadian dollars, this league would be in worse shape than the Canadian based NHL teams.
In the NHL it doesn't hurt as bad since their cap is tied to league revenues, team's share in the US TV contract and US sponsors are paid in US dollars. Revenue sharing distribution to the Canada (and all clubs) are also paid in US funds.
The CFL would have no fall back when the Canadian dollar drops.
The next CBA is not that far away and the cap can be revisited then.
So what about a 35% increase in the cap?
The franchise player is a non-starter in my opinion, creates dissension and can cause as we've seen financial issues. I prefer raising the cap which I believe is long overdue.
I honestly believe the cap could go up to 8 - 10 million per season, and things still be static.