Ambrosie’s playbook always fluid as CFL commish By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 7:00 PM CST Friday, Nov. 18, 2022

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This article was published 17/11/2022 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA – Randy Ambrosie revealed Friday his contract to run the CFL has no end date and he’s willing to stay on as long as the league’s board of governors will have him.

The CFL commissioner has been in his role since 2017 and, over the last six years, has made attempts to grow the three-down game through various initiatives, with the hope of bringing stability to all nine markets while at the same time keeping an eye on expansion.

Ambrosie continues to fight the effects of COVID-19 on the CFL’s bottom line and work continues on improving the contentious relationship with the CFL Player’s Association. All of these topics and more were addressed during his annual Grey Cup week state-of-the-league address.

A number of key items were discussed during his one-hour chat.

1) On the divisional all-star fiasco (the league issued an incorrect list for the East and West divisions — 19 selections had to be corrected — and then retracted it), Ambrosie claimed it was the combination of miscalculated data and a lack of oversight. Turns out, it was exactly what many thought. The league gave equal weight to fan voting – a new addition this year – as they did to media and coaches.

2) Speaking of fiascos, none was worse than what played out with former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Garrett Marino. Marino was suspended four games for a dirty hit on Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, issuing a racially insensitive comment and for another objectionable play. The whole thing was a mess, which Ambrosie didn’t deny, and Marino was eventually banned from the league after more shameful play. Among the many lessons taken from the experience, better ways at handling player discipline were at the top. But progress in this area will only work if the players union is on board for change and chooses to acknowledge that player safety is more important than an offender’s pay cheque.

3) Ambrosie called the new seven-year collective bargaining agreement between the league and CFLPA as “transformational.” While it took a while to get done, including a brief work stoppage, it does put both sides on the right path to building a better relationship. This is also the first year players can benefit from revenue sharing, though it’s unclear how much, if anything, they’ll get this year, as the finances haven’t been determined and won’t be until sometime in the offseason.

4) Playoff games will be moved from Sunday to Saturday, beginning in 2023. That’s a good move, as the CFL won’t have to compete for eyeballs with the NFL. That doesn’t include the Grey Cup, which wouldn’t make sense to move, at least not to the host city that could use the extra day of revenue.

5) Speaking of scheduling, the new CBA allows for the league to move up the season by as much as a month. But while that would certainly help improve the weather for Grey Cup, it’s not going to happen so long as there’s nine teams. A 10th team would allow for the season to run 19 weeks, down from 21, but expansion remains a pipe dream at this point.

6) The football operations cap will remain in place for the foreseeable future despite heavy criticism from front offices across the league. Ambrosie is committed to cutting costs and making sure teams stay within their means and this is certainly one way to do that. He also mentioned that the cap was pushed by the players to ensure more money for the athletes.

7) Some positives from 2022 included scoring being up by 17 per cent, an increase of nearly a touchdown, and an average of 50 points scored per game. Touchdowns increased by 25 per cent and two-and-outs dropped by 12 per cent. The return of padded practices this year didn’t result in an increase in injuries, which were down league-wide by 16 per cent.

8) There is still no clarity on the situation with the Montreal Alouettes organization, which is rumoured to be looking for a new owner after the death of majority owner Sid Spiegel. Ambrosie talked around the issue, saying the current ownership remains committed to the club, adding that could change. In other words, they’re up for sale and we should find out more over the off-season.

9) The league remains committed to the CFL 2.0 initiative, meant to grow the game globally. But even though it’s unearthed some talent from across the globe, including five punters, it hasn’t generated any profits for the league.

10) The TV broadcast deal with TSN expires in 2026 and while it might be too early to predict what will happen next, it will mark an interesting crossroads for the league. The U.S. TV deal with ESPN is in the process of being renewed, with the goal of having it expire at the same time as the TSN’ contract. Ambrosie spoke highly of the league’s relationship with TSN, but with big TV deals proving to be a rough ride as more and more people moving to streaming services, there could be a lot of change coming in a few years.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton