Who Says CFL Players Don't Make Any Money?

12 for the winners…6 for the losers…
It’s been stuck at these levels for about 2 decades.

I dont want a super polished league either or telecasts. If I want that Id watch something else I like the human factor in the CFL where there is some individuality in the teams.

On 83K I made last year… I payed 18.5 K
Then with an 8 K deduction for RRSPs plus another K in Union dues… I get back $2600…
Ya 100K would be about 30K.
Don’t forget… property tax… 5% GST…7% PST… Plus everytime you fill your tank or by some booze… there’s 25-40 percent tax right there…
It’s safe to say that of the 74 K I made after deductions… that I payed atleast 35K in taxes.
Am I rich… not a chance… My girlfriend makes 40 K as well and we have no kids…
That 8K in RRSPs would barely feed a kid…never mind cloth and entertain one…
People who have 3 kids in my humble opinion would have to make about 200K/year to be considered middle class in Vancouver… Obviously this is diferent in other provinces…Hence the CFL SMS is completely flawed!!!
P.S. Please no one reply that they raised 3 kids in Vancouver on 50 K a year…back in the 80s… The economics have changed so drasticly since then that it really is apples to oranges…
Back in the eighties they use to say,“never get a mortgage that is 3 times your income”
Using that math…to buy a 3 bedroom home in Vancouver you would need to be make well in excess of $250K a year.
Overall point… We are all poor and 100K/year is nothing…unless you are already established(with 100s of thousands of dollars in equity.)

I live in the Vancouver area and your right. I would say the real salary for a single would be 80k and for a couple 125k to be considered middle class in this area. Costs are skyrocketing for everything and things like the carbon tax is going to push everything higher yet. Friends of mine who still live in Saskatchewan are seeing the same skyrocketing prices for housing as well. 5 years ago you could buy a house in Griffin for 10k - same house today 125k and growing. Saskatoon is growing even faster in prices.

Alas that's another huge topic that could fill volumes.

Where do you get the over $100,000 from?

Cap is $4.35 million this year (or there abouts) 46 on the active roster, 7 on the dr (they get a set amount, but it is part of the cap) plus guys on the short term injured list, disabled and various guys that are coming and going and bening kept around. You have to be looking at at least 60 players, that is more like $67,000 average, and with a few making a lot more, there will be a lot of guys at the league min, which I think is about $45,000.

You also have to take into account that the football season is only 6 months.

I’ve made about 45K in the first six months of this year and my girlfriend another 20K… We live in a 900 sq ft condo and drive a 06 corolla ( the Corolla costs us about 15K per year in pre tax income alone!!! Insurance 22 hundred payments 5K…gas 2 K more… Maintance (been broken into once…2 hit and runs… been towed once and ticketed another 3 times (50 bucks for a ticket in Vancouver!!!) Not to mention a $300 brake job…yes 30K in vancouver you need a brake job for all of the hills!!!)
That’s atleast 10 K a year… Now remember… I have to make 15 K to make 10 K in real money… So yes… a frickin Corolla costs about 15 K a year to run!!!
It blows my mind when I see all the Lamborginis and porsche’s in Vancouver!! It must cost people the average Canadian income (38K I believe) just to have these cars on the road…
Once again I’ve rambled on…but my point is… if you make 65K in 6 months… (Don’t forget that if you are an American player that your wife probably is not allowed to work in Canada) that you are probablly able to go out for a nice meal every now and then…but by no standards are you raking in the cash.

I think the American players would be taxed on their side of the border as well as income made abroad wouldnt they.

???? EDITS ARE BEING RE POSTED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is very interesting rules about that… For Canadians I know that if you spend more then six months of a calendar year outside of Canada then you are NOT taxed on your overseas income… however…you also lose your medical…since you must spend six months of a calendar year within a specific province to qualify for that provinces medicare (unless you are a student)
As for how it works it the states… I don’t have a clue.

The country in which you are taxed is determined by residency. Residents of Canada get taxed in Canada, residents of US get taxed in the US. Residence is determined by a number of factors, but the one most relevant to a CFL Player is likely to be "how long is he living in Canada". For an American, since he is in Canada for the period June to November (slightly less than 6 months, or less than 50% of the time), he would likely be considered an American resident and taxed in the US.

The Average Salary in the CFL may well be approaching $100k, but that figure is misleading due to the massive salaries starting QB's receive compared to the average player.

More telling is the Median Salary (the point at which half the players are paid higher and half the players are paid lower) would probably be around $75k. Still not bad for 6 months work.

Salaries in the CFL have doubled over the past 4 or 5 seasons, with $45k being the average salary not that long ago.

First off, no one forces the players to play football. They could easily head into a different career. And several do once they find a career that is more financially rewarding or enjoyable.

$45k is the bottom end and is meant for rookies. Paying a player $60k for six months work is pretty good considering most of them are doing something they love and they have a chance to build networks and resumes for when they are done playing.

Granted they will not get rich on that amount but they are able to make a solid living. How many other careers can you step out of school with no professional experience and be making $45 to 60 thousand immediately? Not many.

Exactly!

Excellent money for what they do for the amount of time they do it. And the money that is paid to the bigger leagues like NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, Euro soccer, simply outrageous and dumb but then if I'm a player, I'd take the money no problem thank you.

The CFL is how all pro sports leagues should be operated. In fact, remember the Grey Cup was to be awarded to amateur teams only, wouldn't bother me in the least if the CFL went strictly amateur to be quite honest and the universities were once again allowed to play for the honour of winning it as was the case years ago.

I’m sorry I have to disagree with this post a little…All professional athletes are overpaid…no matter what the sport or what league…paying someone more than a teacher or a cop…or a paramedic (i’m one of them) or any buddy that works there ass of just to break even is wrong.

Rewarding someone because they can throw a ball hard or shot accurately or dunk or whatever is the biggest wrong in our society today…now i know people out there will say well if the players don’t get it the owners or tv stations will…we’ll how bout not charging an arm and a leg for tickets (obviously not talking about the CFL right now)…

All i’m saying is reward the people that deserve it…the carpenters…plumbers…cops…fireman…gargbage men…all the people that go by every day working 8-12 hours and with no other reason than to survive…

Good read Green. Personally, and I'm a fairly bit sports fan, if all pro sports went down the tubes, wouldn't affect me in the least, I'd probably start watching some more amateur sports to get my sports fix when needed.

There will always be performers, there will always be audiences and there will always be people eager to profit off of the combination. If anyone has a problem with athletes, then I would assume they also take issue with the ridiculous amounts of money paid to actors. just my two cents worth. :slight_smile:

I agree with you but you would be surprised at how many people take the players side in a wage dispute.

I dont know how many times I have heard…“The owners get rich because of the players!”

Welcome to the real world… it works that way for every buisness

That line about owners getting rich because of the players always makes me laugh. While it is true, no one ever considers the fact that the owner is using his own money. He has millions invested and is hoping for a return. It always surprises me how people who expect to get paid for what they do feel owners of sports franchises to be happy with either no profits or losing money.