CFLPA ratification of tentative CBA should mean CFL season proceeds normally, but scars remain

The collective bargaining discussions between the CFL and its players' association may have started with a bang months ago, with the players electing a new president in Scott Flory and vowing to take a tough line on being included in the league's massive new revenues, but they ended with a whimper Thursday night when the players officially ratified a tentative CBA that gives them a substantial raw increase but a minute percentage one. The vote was far from a sure thing, especially considering how many prominent players actively criticized the new deal, but the inclusion of rookies (typically not considered CFLPA members at first) in the vote helped ensure there was a strong contingent of players on minimum- or near-minimum contracts eager to make any kind of deal and get back to collecting paycheques and putting together game film that might help catch the NFL's eye. When you combine that with the veterans who spoke in favour of the CBA and those who criticized it but still preferred it to a possible year-long strike, it's not surprising that this passed. The scars from this CBA battle may take a while to heal, but presuming the league's board of governors ratifies the deal in their vote Friday (all but a sure thing considering how favourable this deal is to the league), the 2014 CFL season (and the following four) should proceed as planned.

In the end, a lot of people are going to be happy this ratification vote went as it did. First and foremost amongst them should be CFLPA president Scott Flory and his executive committee. That group was harshly criticized by several prominent players when the terms (and particularly the minimal salary cap increase) of the new CBA were first revealed, and there seemed to be a mutiny afoot. That could still very well happen over the next while, with players electing to grudgingly take this deal but still get rid of the men who created it, but Flory and his fellow executives seemed certainly doomed if their own membership wouldn't take the deal they endorsed. They're far from out of the woods just yet, and the lasting wounds from this negotiation won't heal quickly, but there's certainly a chance this union's leadership could hang on to its positions. Without this vote going this way, that would have seemed highly unlikely.

TSN is also going to be thrilled that a deal has been struck. The sports network ponied up last year for the massive new TV, radio and digital deal that provided the new revenue that caused so much acrimony in these negotiations, and now they'll reap the rewards without even a missed game. The rest of the preseason and the regular season should proceed on schedule. If CFL games continue to draw their traditionally strong ratings, that's a big win for a network that could use one. Without national NHL rights going forward, the CFL may be TSN's biggest remaining national property. Having the CFL season proceed as planned is a huge win for that network, and one that could help them significantly in their ongoing fight with Sportsnet to be Canada's top-rated sports network.

The CFL should be pleased with this vote as well. While it's not as low as the one the league initially proposed, it still only provides a $600,000 boost to the salary cap for this year, with only $50,000 boosts following in each subsequent year. CFL teams have plenty of other costs, to be sure (and there's player compensation not included in the cap, including ratification bonuses, injured reserve and more), but with each team reportedly netting an extra $2.7 million in TV revenue this year, each of the league's franchises should be substantially better off in 2014 than they were in 2013. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll all be profitable each and every year; the league said its bottom teams would still lose money under the new deal, and while that's debatable (and involves stadium situations, one-off costs and so forth), it's clear there are some teams who aren't bringing in anywhere near the revenues others are.

Still, even those struggling clubs should be willing to take this deal. For one thing, they don't have to spend to the full cap. For another, giving players a revenue increase of less than one per cent when your league-wide revenues are expected to climb 21.5 per cent seems like a heck of a deal. The $27 million revenue protection clause for year-three renegotiation also seems high enough that the league should be able to carry this deal to its full term, giving it labour peace and cost certainty for five years.

This is a win for some players too, and it's certainly going to help all the players in the short term. They don't need to deal with the difficulties of arranging flights back home or temporary accommodations during a strike, and they'll start pulling in regular game cheques. Salaries also are going to rise for everyone (especially the minimums, up to $50,000 from $44,000 in 2013), and the ratification bonus cheques will certainly come in handy. Those eager to get playing will be able to do that.

Don't expect the players upset by this CBA went down to just forget about this, though. While they've made gains here, and some non-financial ones in particular (especially the addition of one-year minimum contracts for veterans), they didn't achieve anything near to what they initially asked for, including revenue sharing, a $6.24 million cap ceiling or expanded player safety proposals (such as independent neurologists on the sidelines and mandatory concussion-education seminars). They were also essentially laughed at by a league that unexpectedly took their proposal public, said they were threatening the CFL's existence, dared them to strike and moved a grand total of $200,000 towards the players' first proposal (while the players moved down by $1.24 million). That's not to criticize the CFL for doing so; in the end, that hard-nosed approach paid off for the owners, as they conceded next to nothing and forced the players to crack on everything from revenue sharing to cap ceilings. It is going to wind up alienating players, though, and they may not be quite so willing to work with the league or their teams on events that don't directly benefit them. They also may have a much firmer plan and a much more unified union ahead the next time the CBA comes up for negotiation.

First, though, the CFLPA is going to have to get its own house in order and figure out a way to move forward as a unified group. That may involve retaining Flory and the rest of the executive, theorizing that they made the best deal they could under tough circumstances, or it may involve getting rid of them and starting with a fresh group. Beyond that, players who were publicly in favour of and against this CBA are going to come together and start acting as a group. They didn't do that in these negotiations, and that eventually cost them. We'll see if that changes by the next CBA. In the meantime, we should have a CFL season, and many more to follow.