David Braley's hosted three Grey Cups in four years, and made lots of money from doing so

The man who may benefit more than anyone else from this week's 102nd Grey Cup in Vancouver isn't exactly dominating the spotlight this week, but he should be getting more attention. That would be B.C. Lions' owner (and former senator) David Braley, who also owns the Toronto Argonauts, and as such, is hosting the Grey Cup for the third time in four years. The Lions played host in 2011 (which made their selection as hosts again this year quite curious, and may have contributed to this year's slow ticket sales), while the Argos hosted the 100th Grey Cup in 2012. Hosting the Grey Cup tends to be quite profitable, so three Grey Cups in four years should represent a substantial windfall for Braley. It could be part of his swansong, too, as he's talked about selling both of his teams by the time he hits 75 (two years away) numerous times. What could this Grey Cup mean for Braley, and what will it mean if this is part of his curtain call?

First off, the finances from a Grey Cup aren't exactly easy to unravel, but it is relatively well-established that they're quite beneficial for the hosting team. Last year, the Saskatchewan Roughriders (one of the three teams that publicly reveals their finances) announced $25 million in Grey Cup revenues and $9.3 million in Grey Cup profits. In 2012, with the extra attention around the 100th edition of the game, Braley and the Argonauts were estimated to pull in up to $10 million in Grey Cup profits. Both of those Grey Cups were probably more profitable than the average (2012 thanks to the 100th game, 2013 thanks to it being in football-mad Regina with the home team involved), and this year's might not be quite as lucrative (especially with 4,300 tickets unsold as of Wednesday), but there's still a lot of money here.

For example, the price of Grey Cup tickets this year has been reported to be $175 to $445. With 50,200 sold as of Wednesday (the stadium capacity of 54,500 minus 4,300 unsold tickets), that would represent $8.8 million in gross revenues if every ticket was $175. Many cost more than that, and there are plenty of other revenues for the Grey Cup (including sponsorships, merchandise, corporate suites, food and drink and more), so it wouldn't be surprising for the gross revenues to be up around at least $20 million (which is a very low estimate; that's $5 million below last year, with over 6,000 more tickets sold). Last year saw the Riders bring in 2.68 times their profits in gross revenues; if B.C. was able to follow a similar ratio and make $20 million in gross revenues, that would mean they'd be expected to rake in $7.5 million in profits from this Grey Cup. Combine that with the estimated $10 million from 2012 and a likely-similar number from 2011 (although it should be a little higher, as that Grey Cup sold out; let's say maybe $8 million), and Braley's teams would be expected to reap a combined total of at least $25.5 million from Grey Cups over the past four years. 

That's not to say that Braley is completely lining his pockets and fleecing the league. It's well-established that he secretly loaned former Argonauts' owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski money throughout their tenure (while the team was generally losing money), and Toronto in particular appears to have been losing substantial money under his reign. Some of that may be about his reported penny-pinching methods, but a lot of it is thanks to the ongoing arena issues in Toronto and the inherent struggles in that marketplace. Moreover, the Lions are still more middle-class franchise than cash cow, and they've likely lost money at times under Braley's ownership too (especially in the early days). Thus, even if Braley is getting a substantial cash injection now, that doesn't necessarily mean his time in the league will have been profitable overall (or even broken even). A lot depends on how much he gets when he sells these teams.

It is interesting that everyone involved appears at least somewhat eager for Braley to move on from at least one team. CFL board chairman Jim Lawson was at commissioner Mark Cohon's state of the league address Friday, and said the board has considered the perils of one guy owning two teams (something that's been remarked on frequently) and may take action to stop this situation from reoccurring in future.

"I don't think anyone thinks it's ideal," he said. "It's a constitutional question going forward."

For all those who have taken cheap shots at the CFL thanks to Braley's dual ownership, though, it's notable that he stepped up to buy the Argonauts when absolutely no one else appeared interested in them. Yes, having two franchises with one owner is problematic, but it's far better than having a league-run franchise, or having North America's oldest professional team fold. Braley's Argonauts' ownership has been far from perfect, but they've won a Grey Cup under him, and they're now on much firmer financial footing than they were in the past (thanks to a lucrative TV deal and an extremely favourable CBA). The main challenge is getting them a decent place to play, and Cohon and Lawson both said Braley is in continuing talks with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to get the Argos into BMO Field, and that the situation should be resolved by next year's Grey Cup.

"There's support at the board level at MLSE," Cohon said. "David is having ongoing conversations."

One issue there is the federal government funding for BMO Field expansion that's been held up, but Lawson said the CFL board of governors is even willing to consider chipping in if needed.

"We're clearly monitoring it," he said. "We're willing to look at anything to make this work."

If Braley can get the Argos into BMO Field, they instantly become much easier to sell. At the moment, they'd be a problematic asset to acquire; even with the lucrative CBA and TV deals, they have major attendance issues, a poor venue, and one where their lease has a firm ending date of 2017. With a good stadium, though, they could be at least a somewhat attractive property. Similarly, the Lions have had some attendance issues of their own, but they're still a reasonably solid franchise (and with the government-funded renovations of B.C. Place in 2011, they have an excellent place to play for years to come). If Braley does in fact want to sell these teams as he's said, he may do it relatively soon, especially as he's getting older (he turns 74 in May, and has said he wants to sell both franchises by the time he's 75) and as there are no future Grey Cup windfalls on the horizon.

We'll see what happens there, and we'll see how Braley does in those sales. If he doesn't get substantial money for one or both teams, then perhaps his Grey Cup windfalls will be seen as more of an even-up, compensating him for all the years of lost money. If he makes substantial profits on both, though, giving him three Grey Cups in four years may look even odder in retrospect. The CFL's essentially already admitted that the Grey Cup fatigue it brought in by having two Grey Cups in Vancouver in four years is problematic, something that was pointed out when they made the Vancouver decision in March 2013. If Braley winds up walking away in the next couple of years with big fees for both of his franchises, people may ask again why he got to make so much money off the Grey Cup. Braley's contributions to the league, and his willingness to step up when others wouldn't (both in B.C. and Toronto) shouldn't be overlooked, but this 2011-2014 span of Grey Cup hosting is still one that deserves substantial scrutiny. Braley largely prefers to stay outside the spotlight, and it's unlikely he'll draw a lot of attention this week, but league observers should keep in mind just how well he's done off these past few Grey Cups.