Eskimos' profit rises by almost $2 million, showing CFL's financial strength

There's yet more evidence that the CFL's teams are doing very well under its new CBA, as the Edmonton Eskimos announced this week that they made a profit of $3,594,393 in 2014. That's close to $2 million over the already impressive-profit of $1,683,920 they made in 2013, and while their improved on-field record (4-14 to 12-6) and boosted attendance (up by 4.3 per cent in 2014) helped, a lot of that has to do with the new TV revenue the league is making this year. Keep in mind that Winnipeg's profits (the only other ones publicly announced yet) also rose by $1 million in 2014, to $3.9 million. The Eskimos' results show the Bombers' results are part of a larger trend, and one suggesting the CFL is in a very strong place financially. That could have a number of implications, including perhaps boosting the interest in owning the Toronto Argonauts, but also perhaps motivating the league's players to push much more forcefully for a cap tied to revenues in the next collective bargaining talks.

How much of this increased profit is thanks to the TV deal? A sizable portion. We don't have a detailed breakdown of the Eskimos' financials yet, but Winnipeg's report showed close to a $2.25 million increase in league-distributed revenues, to $4,297,056. Those league-distributed revenues should be relatively equal for each team, so let's say Edmonton brought in $2.25 million more there in 2014 than in 2013. Now, there are increased costs as well; the salary cap rose from $4.4 million to $5 million in 2014, so the Eskimos may have spent $600,000 more in salaries last year than they did before. (They may not have spent quite that much, though; keep in mind that the cap was decided only days before the season, not during free agency, so many teams may have been well under it. We only know that Hamilton exceeded it.)

Still, even if you give Edmonton credit for $600,000 in increased spending on players, that would still mean that they made about $1.65 million from the boosted TV revenues even after accounting for the higher salary cap. The Eskimos may have had other costs rise as well, so their revenues apart from TV (attendance, sponsorships, merchandise, etc) probably rose by more than the $260,473 between their total profit rise and their TV rise minus salary rise, but it's still remarkable just how much of this can likely be traced back to that TV deal. That should mean that other clubs around the league are also reaping the benefits.

On one hand, that's tremendously positive for the CFL and its teams. It makes even those squads that have struggled financially in recent years, such as the Toronto Argonauts, look better to buyers than they would have under the old CBA. That's likely a big part of why Bell and Larry Tanenbaum are still looking into the team; they wouldn't be doing so for charity. It also means that the league's middle-class teams should be much more stable. However, report after report of good news like this bolsters the case that this new CBA benefited teams far more than players. The CFLPA's recent changes suggest it may be getting more aggressive; we'll see how that translates into the next round of bargaining as we get closer to this CBA's expiration, which will come after the 2018 season. If the CFL's teams keep recording bigger and bigger profits, that may motivate the players to push even harder for a cap tied to revenues the next time around.