Riders save money on Josiah St. John deal, but at what cost?

The first-overall pick in this year's CFL draft is finally about to actually enter the league. That would be Oklahoma offensive lineman Josiah St. John, who was taken first overall May 10 by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but St. John held out from signing a deal and asked for a trade, wanting compensation in line with the approximately $80,000 in base pay and signing bonuses (plus $20K in incentives) the last two picks received and above the $72,000-plus the other offensive linemen picked in the top 10 this year made. He's now reportedly agreed to a deal worth less than the Riders initially offered, so they won the negotiation, but the big question is if the negative effects from their handling of this will outweigh the financial savings they've gained.

How did those negotiations go? The Riders reportedly offered St. John more than $72,000 on a three-year (technically, two years plus a club option) deal, but when St. John didn't bite and skipped minicamp, changed their offer to a two-year deal at the league minimum salary ($52,000 and $53,000 this year and next). Not much was then heard until CKRM's Rod Pedersen (the team's radio play-by-play voice and host of The SportsCage) tweeted Wednesday that St. John has agreed to terms with the team:

According to TSN's Gary Lawless, the deal is for three years and less money than St. John was offered on draft night, so it sounds like Saskatchewan got more of what they wanted in the end. If that's true, it's curious to see St. John end his holdout before the team even plays a game (their opener is against the Toronto Argonauts Thursday). If their offensive line depth had been exposed in competition, it might have given him more leverage to get a better deal. Also, St. John's agent, Johnathan Hardaway, has been known for plenty of hardball over the years, from NBA tryouts to returns to school (not really an option for St. John, though, as he played in the four-year NCAA rather than five-year CIS) to actual holdouts, so it would seem curious that he would cave here. Maybe St. John wanted to get on the field, but doing so for what's likely less money than guys picked after him are making doesn't seem that logical from this standpoint, especially as his leverage might have only risen if the Riders' line and Canadian content struggled without him.

While this appears to be a win for the Roughriders on the financial side, it's worth asking if it was all worth it. The difference between what St. John reportedly asked for and what they initially offered him was probably about $25,000 annually at most (if he wanted a $80+20K deal and they offered $75K with no bonuses), and while they may have saved even a bit more money now, they can't have saved more than $50,000 annually in total (as he would have to be paid at least the league minimum of $52,000, and is likely making more than that). $50,000 is less than 1/100th of each CFL team's salary cap ($5.1 million this year), and it's not enough to pay even one more player.

The difference here is also not a lot of money compared to the Roughriders' overall finances. $50,000 is 1/786th of the $39.3 million in revenue the team made last year, and while they cited a $4.3 million loss, that was about the amortization of expenses from hosting the 2013 Grey Cup (they actually made $873,000 without counting that, or enough to pay an extra $50,000 17.4 times). They also made profits of $10.4 million in 2013 (counting Grey Cup) and $2.2 million in 2014, enough to pay an extra $50,000 208 and 44 times respectively. So, the team could undoubtedly have afforded to give St. John what he asked for.

What are the impacts of winning this negotiation instead of just meeting St. John's demands? Well, it lets Saskatchewan head coach and general manager Chris Jones live up to his tough talk about "certain philosophies and ways that we’re going to do things," and perhaps that may help them in other negotiations, pushing agents to ask for less. It could also have a negative impact, though; if the Roughriders get a reputation as being stingy, that means players are less likely to be particularly interested in signing there. (See the Toronto Argonauts in the later years of David Braley's ownership.)

Even more importantly, the late resolution of this contract almost certainly will have a negative impact on St. John and on his ability to contribute to the Riders quickly. He wasn't in training camp thanks to this holdout, so he didn't get to start fitting in with the team and his coaches there, and he didn't get valuable preseason playing experience. Keep in mind his NCAA background, too; Canadian football of any sort is going to be a big adjustment for him, and now that adjustment will have to start during the season instead of before it. That means he won't be ready to play for Saskatchewan as quickly, and that could hurt the team on the field, especially considering their issues with offensive line and Canadian depth. It might also hurt his long-term development, and it will almost certainly diminish any desire he might have had to sign an extension with them after his rookie deal.

Of course, many will blame St. John and his agent for these negative effects, as it was certainly their call to hold out for a better contract instead of just taking what the Riders offered. For the price of $25,000 to $50,000 annually, though, Saskatchewan missed a month and a half where they could have worked with their top draft pick and prepared him to play a large role. They missed letting him work with his coaches and get to know his teammates over that time, and they missed him adjusting to the CFL over that time. They've depleted the value of their own asset, at least in the short term; the version of St. John who will show up Friday is less valuable than the version who had been there all along, and it may or may not be possible for him to reach the heights he could have. They've also soured the chances of him signing a new deal with them as this gets close to expiring. Is $25,000 to $50,000 annually in savings ($75,000 to $150,000 over the course of a three-year deal) really worth that? From this corner, the answer is no.