Hearing that the Lions overspent the salary cap in 2024 and have been fined by the league. They also will lose their 2025 1st round draft pick to Calgary.
OH NOES! What is that sound? What do I hear? Must I say it?
That's the sound of vindication.
Maybe half the forum thought BC had to be way over. Half said "who knows" or "no way". (Who owes me a Walby burger?)
Ya, so if they lost their 1st rounder, that means they were WAY over. Was it $250k or $300k that loses you your 1RDP?
BC mega-cheated in '24, and actually backtracked in the standings. BC SUCKS! Now pay up Doman! Have fun without your picks Buck! How'd that VAJ trade work out for ya?
Haha, I'll sleep well tonight.
P.S. This is carte blanche for WFC to go over by at least the 2RDP penalty tier (up to $200k?) in '25. I want to see some late acquisitions and NFL-returnees beefing up our roster come fall. Oh ya, and pay everyone exorbitant magic-marketing-money too! Weeeeeeee!
P.P.S. For some reason most of the greenies on the green forum saw the reality of this, they sussed it out much better than those here!
When do we find out which teams are over and by how much?
Quote from: TecnoGenius on March 19, 2025, 10:40:16 AMOH NOES! What is that sound? What do I hear? Must I say it?
That's the sound of vindication.
Maybe half the forum thought BC had to be way over. Half said "who knows" or "no way". (Who owes me a Walby burger?)
Ya, so if they lost their 1st rounder, that means they were WAY over. Was it $250k or $300k that loses you your 1RDP?
BC mega-cheated in '24, and actually backtracked in the standings. BC SUCKS! Now pay up Doman! Have fun without your picks Buck! How'd that VAJ trade work out for ya?
Haha, I'll sleep well tonight.
P.S. This is carte blanche for WFC to go over by at least the 2RDP penalty tier (up to $200k?) in '25. I want to see some late acquisitions and NFL-returnees beefing up our roster come fall. Oh ya, and pay everyone exorbitant magic-marketing-money too! Weeeeeeee!
P.P.S. For some reason most of the greenies on the green forum saw the reality of this, they sussed it out much better than those here!
I'll actually give Dolman props he's put his money where his mouth is, he wanted to make Lions relevant in BC and a big part of that is winning. He took a gamble and it didn't pay off. Signing Rourke enabled him to retain Adams for last year then trade Adams and recoup the 1st round pick lost with Calgary's 2nd round. Which basically means the Lions dropped from 3rd pick to 9th. Overall pretty smart.
(But BC still sucks)
Quote from: TecnoGenius on March 19, 2025, 10:40:16 AMOH NOES! What is that sound? What do I hear? Must I say it?
That's the sound of vindication.
Maybe half the forum thought BC had to be way over. Half said "who knows" or "no way". (Who owes me a Walby burger?)
Ya, so if they lost their 1st rounder, that means they were WAY over. Was it $250k or $300k that loses you your 1RDP?
BC mega-cheated in '24, and actually backtracked in the standings. BC SUCKS! Now pay up Doman! Have fun without your picks Buck! How'd that VAJ trade work out for ya?
Haha, I'll sleep well tonight.
P.S. This is carte blanche for WFC to go over by at least the 2RDP penalty tier (up to $200k?) in '25. I want to see some late acquisitions and NFL-returnees beefing up our roster come fall. Oh ya, and pay everyone exorbitant magic-marketing-money too! Weeeeeeee!
P.P.S. For some reason most of the greenies on the green forum saw the reality of this, they sussed it out much better than those here!
As always Techno, you're mostly just arguing with yourself.
TORONTO — The BC Lions, Toronto Argonauts, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa REDBLACKS exceeded the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Salary Expenditure Cap of $5.525 million in 2024.
In addition to being fined, the BC Lions will forfeit the highest of their first- and second-round selections (Nos. 3 and 9) in the 2025 CFL Draft due to the amount by which they exceeded the cap. BC retains its lower second-round selection (No. 11).
Per the CFL Constitution, the team with the highest waiver priority – in this instance, the Calgary Stampeders – have been awarded BC's forfeited picks as the final selections in the first two rounds – Nos. 8 and 17.
https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/28/bc-toronto-saskatchewan-ottawa-exceed-2024-salary-expenditure-cap/
Enjoy those penalties, Lions.
(https://media.tenor.com/TywY4EYSTZEAAAAM/ha-ha-the-simpsons.gif)
I fully agree with BC losing the 2 picks.
Don't agree that Calgary gains these two picks.
Quote from: Ridermania on March 28, 2025, 02:57:18 PMI fully agree with BC losing the 2 picks.
Don't agree that Calgary gains these two picks.
Why not? Who else should get them?
Rick Campbell took the fall, but going so far overboard on the SMS had to come from Doman, it'll be interesting to see if he continues to meddle with the team and forces them to take action when he wants change. I suspect he's not a patient owner.
Quote from: blue_gold_84 on March 28, 2025, 02:59:46 PMWhy not? Who else should get them?
All teams just move up a spot.
Quote from: blue_gold_84 on March 28, 2025, 02:59:46 PMWhy not? Who else should get them?
They should just be removed, everyone else moves up.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on March 28, 2025, 03:11:01 PMRick Campbell took the fall, but going so far overboard on the SMS had to come from Doman, it'll be interesting to see if he continues to meddle with the team and forces them to take action when he wants change. I suspect he's not a patient owner.
They happen to have two high end players come free from the NFL at the same time. Doman obviously would of had to approve, but I think everyone was on the same page here. I doubt there was any "meddling".
Altogether that adds up to about $800K in fines for those teams. My question is what exactly does the league do with that money?
It gets divided up with the teams that weren't over the cap.
Quote from: Ridermania on March 28, 2025, 08:57:30 PMIt gets divided up with the teams that weren't over the cap.
4 teams went over so that means about $175K to each of the other 5 teams. I don't doubt you are right about how they use this money.
It doesn't seem like the best use IMO. Maybe creating some sort of fund for health and welfare long past playing days. Figuring out who would get what or why wouldn't be easy.
At the moment this version to use the money just goes into the profit and loss of various teams. That means there is no impact to any players either current or past.
However we see some players post football, destitute with mental health issues etc. It's a little like the issue with the increased revenue of $400K for each team and determining what to do with that.
Pension fund ideas and health concerns beyond recovering from an injury and post football health would be something I would support more. Obviously profit and loss is import to the survival of the CFL. Overspending resulting in fines that result is not the best plan forward. Increase revenue through attendance and TV revenue streams.
How do we get younger people to attend live games at the stadium?
When a team overspends the salary cap by that much it potentially creates a competitive advantage over all other teams, which is why I don't agree with the awarding of both picks to just one team.
In some circumstances it could lead to one team making the playoffs at the expense of another and costing them the playoff revenue, impacting the team and its players.
The picks could go into a lottery with lower ranking teams having better odds.
As far as use of the fines rewarding the teams that are compliant isn't a bad thing, as really the cfls punitive system isn't severe enough as it is. If the team has an opportunity to sign a high quality cdn for 2 the 3 years ie Ford losing a first round pick isn't a big deal as most 1st round picks aren't even assured to be starters
Quote from: Pete on March 30, 2025, 01:33:34 AMWhen a team overspends the salary cap by that much it potentially creates a competitive advantage over all other teams, which is why I don't agree with the awarding of both picks to just one team.
In some circumstances it could lead to one team making the playoffs at the expense of another and costing them the playoff revenue, impacting the team and its players.
The picks could go into a lottery with lower ranking teams having better odds.
As far as use of the fines rewarding the teams that are compliant isn't a bad thing, as really the cfls punitive system isn't severe enough as it is. If the team has an opportunity to sign a high quality cdn for 2 the 3 years ie Ford losing a first round pick isn't a big deal as most 1st round picks aren't even assured to be starters
True, it's a bit of a game every GM has to play to support the draft, fairly rare a first round draft pick makes an impact in his first season and maybe a 50% they develop to their full potential at all. If I was a GM I'd sure be tempted to avoid the risk and trade my draft picks for established players that have already proven themselves in the league. I guess that would be following the Brendan Taman model.
BC took a huge risk and didn't get the reward. 20-20 hindsight says they should have kept Adams and not signed Rourke.
Quote from: TBURGESS on March 30, 2025, 05:25:42 PMBC took a huge risk and didn't get the reward. 20-20 hindsight says they should have kept Adams and not signed Rourke.
Rourke is 5 years younger, a Canadian and has greater upside compared to Adams. It's a little early to say they made a mistake. I don't think they would have done any better in 2024 with Adams as the starter even if he stayed healthy.
Bombers beat the Lions with both starting in the last 2 regular season games to win the season series.
I will say a final judgment is still to be made but I can't fault how they made this decision.
Keep in mind the ratio advantage in gaining a QB that counts as a Canadian starter.
Quote from: TBURGESS on March 30, 2025, 05:25:42 PMBC took a huge risk and didn't get the reward. 20-20 hindsight says they should have kept Adams and not signed Rourke.
Way too early to determine that, Rourke could play for the Lions another 10 years become a fan favourite and bring them multiple GC, VA does not offer that potential.
Quote from: Ridermania on March 28, 2025, 03:26:22 PMAll teams just move up a spot.
Did they though? The wording in the press releases makes it sound like BC's name just gets swapped out for CGY's name.
The new order is shown here:
https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/28/bc-toronto-saskatchewan-ottawa-exceed-2024-salary-expenditure-cap/
It would appear CGY really did just take BC's 1RDP? (There's only 8 teams listed in 1R because EDM forfeited theirs.)
But then CGY doesn't pick again until 17? So they should have been #1 in 2R, but that #1 shifted up to 1R #8? Or did CGY trade away their #1-2R to BC for VAJ?
I'd really really like to see a "before" list of the draft order, just before the BC adjustment was made, but taking into account previous trades and forfeits.
Again, the press wording is very bad on this matter. Why can't anything in the CFL be spelled out properly? Why doesn't someone make an FAQ that anticipates all the fan questions?
P.S. I originally posited BC was going to be over the cap (way back when they acquired Rourke & Betts) at $300-350k. Mainly because that was pretty much what Rouke & Betts cost them and I knew they were already tight to the cap to field their very good team.
Over the following months I lowered it slightly, where I thought maybe they were over more like $250-$300.
Ya, so basically BC was over $350k, which is basically the highest estimate anyone made this whole time, and way worse than those who thought they'd be "slightly" over.
However, since BC exceeded the magic "1RDP Loss" tier, why didn't they just go hog wild? I'm pretty sure beyond that point there is no further DP loss and no worse punishment other than paying real money in fines (which Doman doesn't care about).
Lastly, losing DPs is not a good deterrent (as the other threads discussed, drafting is at best a 50/50 proposition). Real money fines are not a good deterrent. The system is broken. They just showed what a super-loaded owner can do if they want to cheat buy their way to success. (The fact they failed does not mean it can't work with smarter people doing it; or work in year 2 of the overage.)
I propose that all fines also come with 2X the overages coming off the SMS in the following year. So BC's SMS cap for 2025 should be ~$700k below what every other team gets. That would be real punishment that really impacts the team and dissuades teams from cheating having overages.
No Rourke = Not over the SMS by enough to lose picks. Also Adams was the better QB last year. It remains to be seen if Rourke works out in the future.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on March 31, 2025, 05:43:54 AMP.S. I originally posited BC was going to be over the cap (way back when they acquired Rourke & Betts) at $300-350k. Mainly because that was pretty much what Rouke & Betts cost them and I knew they were already tight to the cap to field their very good team.
Over the following months I lowered it slightly, where I thought maybe they were over more like $250-$300.
Ya, so basically BC was over $350k, which is basically the highest estimate anyone made this whole time, and way worse than those who thought they'd be "slightly" over.
However, since BC exceeded the magic "1RDP Loss" tier, why didn't they just go hog wild? I'm pretty sure beyond that point there is no further DP loss and no worse punishment other than paying real money in fines (which Doman doesn't care about).
Lastly, losing DPs is not a good deterrent (as the other threads discussed, drafting is at best a 50/50 proposition). Real money fines are not a good deterrent. The system is broken. They just showed what a super-loaded owner can do if they want to cheat buy their way to success. (The fact they failed does not mean it can't work with smarter people doing it; or work in year 2 of the overage.)
I propose that all fines also come with 2X the overages coming off the SMS in the following year. So BC's SMS cap for 2025 should be ~$700k below what every other team gets. That would be real punishment that really impacts the team and dissuades teams from cheating having overages.
You can't drop the cap for one team over another. For one, they have contract already signed for that year...
Financial and DP penalties are far more than enough. BC got into a pickle not having cap space for returning NFL players.
It cost them dearly to sign those guys, but they are both difference makers, and had they not signed them, someone else would have. The fact is, though, both are Nat's that are starters, so it makes draft picks less of a concern. So loss of cash, no issue, loss of DP's less of an issue.
For a GC year at home, the monetary penalty would be insignificant compared to the additional revenue they'd have made had they made the game. It was a gamble, but Rourke had shown to be worth the gamble with his past performance. The fact he stunk after getting a lot of bad 4 down habits is not BC's fault.
Quote from: TecnoGenius on March 31, 2025, 05:43:54 AMP.S. I originally posited BC was going to be over the cap (way back when they acquired Rourke & Betts) at $300-350k. Mainly because that was pretty much what Rouke & Betts cost them and I knew they were already tight to the cap to field their very good team.
Over the following months I lowered it slightly, where I thought maybe they were over more like $250-$300.
Ya, so basically BC was over $350k, which is basically the highest estimate anyone made this whole time, and way worse than those who thought they'd be "slightly" over.
However, since BC exceeded the magic "1RDP Loss" tier, why didn't they just go hog wild? I'm pretty sure beyond that point there is no further DP loss and no worse punishment other than paying real money in fines (which Doman doesn't care about).
Lastly, losing DPs is not a good deterrent (as the other threads discussed, drafting is at best a 50/50 proposition). Real money fines are not a good deterrent. The system is broken. They just showed what a super-loaded owner can do if they want to cheat buy their way to success. (The fact they failed does not mean it can't work with smarter people doing it; or work in year 2 of the overage.)
I propose that all fines also come with 2X the overages coming off the SMS in the following year. So BC's SMS cap for 2025 should be ~$700k below what every other team gets. That would be real punishment that really impacts the team and dissuades teams from cheating having overages.
I don't think the CFL should be going out of their way to punish franchises severely as that would directly reduce the quality of the product and fan approval at a critical time. Slap BC's wrist with a fine and take away a draft pick or two, if Doman persists crossing the line and loses more draft picks eventually a football person will explain the long-term damage he is inflicting on his club.
Quote from: theaardvark on March 31, 2025, 03:16:40 PMYou can't drop the cap for one team over another. For one, they have contract already signed for that year...
They can do whatever they want, just add it in to the next league-team contract, just like they once upon a time wrote in this loss-of-DP verbiage.
Quote from: theaardvark on March 31, 2025, 03:16:40 PMFinancial and DP penalties are far more than enough.
[...]
The fact is, though, both are Nat's that are starters, so it makes draft picks less of a concern. So loss of cash, no issue, loss of DP's less of an issue.
Uh, you contradict yourself 1 sentence later. Clearly the $ and DP penalties were not enough, and you admit it. The $ penalty means nothing to a privately-owned or cash-rich team. Nothing. The DPs may not hurt your team for a few seasons, if ever.
Doman could just give the league the finger and go over by $2M this year and outbid everyone's all-star NAT OL, etc, to basically make the draft meaningless. What will it cost him? Just extra $. If you had Bill Gates or Elon Musk money, what's to stop you from doing this?
No, the only thing that can really hurt a team is direct loss of SMS. Now, if they lose the SMS but ignore you and still go over by $2M (or $3M!) then clearly some other punishments will have to be thought up.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on March 31, 2025, 04:27:54 PMSlap BC's wrist with a fine and take away a draft pick or two, if Doman persists crossing the line and loses more draft picks eventually a football person will explain the long-term damage he is inflicting on his club.
Ooh, in some circles this is known as the "sternly worded letter". Someone hellbent on ignoring the SMS will just laugh. As Aards said, they have nothing else to worry about because it's not in their contract!
What if the person doing it doesn't care about the long-term damage? The GM/Prez of SSK in 2013 didn't give 2 poops about the future beyond 2013. They wanted that cup and to heck with the future team, and SSK then stunk for the next 5+ seasons.
Some people just won't care. They want to win now at all costs and let someone else clean up the mess.
I think many are trying to minimize what actually just occurred. BC wasn't a the fairly normal $20-$90k over. They were like
4X-7X the normal overage! It's actually quite insane and unprecedented what they just did. And we're just to shrug it off? Make up excuses? "Well, they would have lost Rourke and/or Betts to another team." Ya, so? Like limitations every team in the league deals with every season?
And has BC shed any of its SMS for this season? Sure, they ditched "one H", and maybe Chungh, but I don't see any major "SMS shedding" going on for a team that has, what, $800k+ tied up in Betts+Rourke?? From what I see, I see BC being the most over SMS yet again in 2025.
Oh ya, and we haven't even mentioned the Magic Marketing Money (3M, tm) cheating yet! You talk about on-field product... ya so BC may get an improved product, but is the league-wide product improved if they are miles above everyone else due to cheating?
Quote from: TecnoGenius on April 01, 2025, 12:57:10 AMOoh, in some circles this is known as the "sternly worded letter". Someone hellbent on ignoring the SMS will just laugh. As Aards said, they have nothing else to worry about because it's not in their contract!
What if the person doing it doesn't care about the long-term damage? The GM/Prez of SSK in 2013 didn't give 2 poops about the future beyond 2013. They wanted that cup and to heck with the future team, and SSK then stunk for the next 5+ seasons.
Some people just won't care. They want to win now at all costs and let someone else clean up the mess.
I think many are trying to minimize what actually just occurred. BC wasn't a the fairly normal $20-$90k over. They were like 4X-7X the normal overage! It's actually quite insane and unprecedented what they just did. And we're just to shrug it off? Make up excuses? "Well, they would have lost Rourke and/or Betts to another team." Ya, so? Like limitations every team in the league deals with every season?
And has BC shed any of its SMS for this season? Sure, they ditched "one H", and maybe Chungh, but I don't see any major "SMS shedding" going on for a team that has, what, $800k+ tied up in Betts+Rourke?? From what I see, I see BC being the most over SMS yet again in 2025.
Oh ya, and we haven't even mentioned the Magic Marketing Money (3M, tm) cheating yet! You talk about on-field product... ya so BC may get an improved product, but is the league-wide product improved if they are miles above everyone else due to cheating?
Doman purchased the BC Lions in August 2021.
In 2022, four teams were over the salary cap: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg
In 2023, three teams were over the salary cap: BC, Winnipeg, Hamilton
In 2024, four teams were over the salary cap: BC, Toronto Saskatchewan, Ottawa
So, yeah, somewhere in all that over the top rhetoric is fair criticism that BC went a little wild last year (they were significantly over and received a significant penalty). I suppose the concern you've trying to get at is that the safeguards in place aren't currently enough to stop it from happening every year? My guess is they are. Wouldn't the reasonable thing to do be to wait and see if the system functions properly before losing our minds about it?
Quote from: TecnoGenius on April 01, 2025, 12:48:25 AMThey can do whatever they want, just add it in to the next league-team contract, just like they once upon a time wrote in this loss-of-DP verbiage.
Uh, you contradict yourself 1 sentence later. Clearly the $ and DP penalties were not enough, and you admit it. The $ penalty means nothing to a privately-owned or cash-rich team. Nothing. The DPs may not hurt your team for a few seasons, if ever.
Doman could just give the league the finger and go over by $2M this year and outbid everyone's all-star NAT OL, etc, to basically make the draft meaningless. What will it cost him? Just extra $. If you had Bill Gates or Elon Musk money, what's to stop you from doing this?
No, the only thing that can really hurt a team is direct loss of SMS. Now, if they lose the SMS but ignore you and still go over by $2M (or $3M!) then clearly some other punishments will have to be thought up.
I don't contradict myself, I confirm that the penalty fits the offense. BC "cheated" the cap to sign 2 all star NATS, and lost cash and DP's for it. BC was a lot better for having made the move, the fact that it didn't get them to the cup was, honestly, astonishing. Upon making those moves, they put themselves very much in contention. And the lost DP's would actually move down the board as well.
Had there been other, more aggressive punishments, large enough to stop BC from signing Betts and Rourke, would that have been good for the league? Where do they end up?
BC was in a very specific situation where they could land 2 NAT all stars at the cost of cash and some draft picks. Cash wasn't an issue with the GC at home, and DP's are less of an issue as the players they "cheated" to get were Nats.
Had those players been Imp's, that may have changed the discussion. Had the Cup been in MTL last year, again, the discussion may have been different. The fact that no team has ever busted the $SMS to the point of losing DP's in the past shows that the deterrent is appropriate.
Its going to be a long while until we see a team forfeit DP's again.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on April 01, 2025, 01:18:39 PMDoman purchased the BC Lions in August 2021.
In 2022, four teams were over the salary cap: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg
In 2023, three teams were over the salary cap: BC, Winnipeg, Hamilton
In 2024, four teams were over the salary cap: BC, Toronto Saskatchewan, Ottawa
So, yeah, somewhere in all that over the top rhetoric is fair criticism that BC went a little wild last year (they were significantly over and received a significant penalty). I suppose the concern you've trying to get at is that the safeguards in place aren't currently enough to stop it from happening every year? My guess is they are. Wouldn't the reasonable thing to do be to wait and see if the system functions properly before losing our minds about it?
Odd... only EDM and CGY have stayed within the cap since 2022. Two of the strongest franchises of the past are playing within their budgets, and not finishing well in the standings. Edm might break that cap this year. Can't see CGY doing it...
But only BC has lost DP's. So, it looks like that deterrent is sufficient.
We don't see top level Canadians coming back to the CFL that were complete free agents. Their contracts were going to be substantial regardless of which team signed them. It just happened to be the Lions. By top level I mean those that are going to command $600K+.
This probably would have been less of an issue if it had happened during an off season. By mid season contracts were in place and budgets pretty much set. Trying to trade a high priced QB already on the roster would be difficult for the same reason ( Adams ).
I don't know what the alternative might be. This was an extremely unusual situation. I suspect they could have added Betts without going over the SMS but Rourke was going to push the limit.
Quote from: Sir Blue and Gold on April 01, 2025, 01:18:39 PMDoman purchased the BC Lions in August 2021.
In 2022, four teams were over the salary cap: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg
In 2023, three teams were over the salary cap: BC, Winnipeg, Hamilton
In 2024, four teams were over the salary cap: BC, Toronto Saskatchewan, Ottawa
So, yeah, somewhere in all that over the top rhetoric is fair criticism that BC went a little wild last year (they were significantly over and received a significant penalty). I suppose the concern you've trying to get at is that the safeguards in place aren't currently enough to stop it from happening every year? My guess is they are. Wouldn't the reasonable thing to do be to wait and see if the system functions properly before losing our minds about it?
Quote from: TecnoGenius on April 01, 2025, 12:57:10 AMOoh, in some circles this is known as the "sternly worded letter". Someone hellbent on ignoring the SMS will just laugh. As Aards said, they have nothing else to worry about because it's not in their contract!
What if the person doing it doesn't care about the long-term damage? The GM/Prez of SSK in 2013 didn't give 2 poops about the future beyond 2013. They wanted that cup and to heck with the future team, and SSK then stunk for the next 5+ seasons.
Some people just won't care. They want to win now at all costs and let someone else clean up the mess.
I think many are trying to minimize what actually just occurred. BC wasn't a the fairly normal $20-$90k over. They were like 4X-7X the normal overage! It's actually quite insane and unprecedented what they just did. And we're just to shrug it off? Make up excuses? "Well, they would have lost Rourke and/or Betts to another team." Ya, so? Like limitations every team in the league deals with every season?
And has BC shed any of its SMS for this season? Sure, they ditched "one H", and maybe Chungh, but I don't see any major "SMS shedding" going on for a team that has, what, $800k+ tied up in Betts+Rourke?? From what I see, I see BC being the most over SMS yet again in 2025.
Oh ya, and we haven't even mentioned the Magic Marketing Money (3M, tm) cheating yet! You talk about on-field product... ya so BC may get an improved product, but is the league-wide product improved if they are miles above everyone else due to cheating?
Doman purchase the Lions in 2021, to do so he needed to meet with and be approved by the CFL BOG on the promise of adhering to the rules of their court. He stepped over a well defined line and paid the price asked, that does not mean he's going to go rogue and ignore every other law the CFL has laid out. If he wants his franchise to thrive it's in his best interest to cooperate with the grand plan of growing the CFL in an orderly manner.
BC | $347,889
Toronto | $87,103
Saskatchewan | $40,121
Ottawa | $22,914
I am surprised BC only went over by $350k.
1/2 a season's salary ($749k - $200k marketing money / 2 = $275k) plus Dolegala's remaining 2024 salary savings (probably $50k) means his "hit" was about $225k. Taking them into penalty when he signed.
Betts was only 7 games, but I guess he took them over the top into losing the DP's
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 01, 2025, 04:11:52 PMDoman purchase the Lions in 2021, to do so he needed to meet with and be approved by the CFL BOG on the promise of adhering to the rules of their court. He stepped over a well defined line and paid the price asked, that does not mean he's going to go rogue and ignore every other law the CFL has laid out. If he wants his franchise to thrive it's in his best interest to cooperate with the grand plan of growing the CFL in an orderly manner.
He's playing by the rules, and paying his fines and taking his penalties to field the best team he can and provide his fans with the best experience possible.
Can you imagine the box office hit he would have taken had he let both Rourke and Betts sign elsewhere?
Its one thing allowing a FA to change teams for an outrageous contract offer, its a complete other thing when you have players "coming home" from the NFL and you pass on them.
Quote from: theaardvark on April 01, 2025, 04:32:18 PMHe's playing by the rules, and paying his fines and taking his penalties to field the best team he can and provide his fans with the best experience possible.
Can you imagine the box office hit he would have taken had he let both Rourke and Betts sign elsewhere?
Its one thing allowing a FA to change teams for an outrageous contract offer, its a complete other thing when you have players "coming home" from the NFL and you pass on them.
Agree on Rourke as he's a very rare specimen, but I wouldn't have gone overboard on signing Betts as his specialization is too specific and his effectiveness is often nullified. I'd let him make the rounds and if he still wanted to sign back with BC at a fair price, cut another player to make room for his salary. He wouldn't have received any outrageous offers elsewhere as most CFL teams were already at the limit of their salary caps.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 01, 2025, 05:32:02 PMAgree on Rourke as he's a very rare specimen, but I wouldn't have gone overboard on signing Betts as his specialization is too specific and his effectiveness is often nullified. I'd let him make the rounds and if he still wanted to sign back with BC at a fair price, cut another player to make room for his salary. He wouldn't have received any outrageous offers elsewhere as most CFL teams were already at the limit of their salary caps.
Betts would have gotten a big contract elsewhere had BC not backed up the Brinks truck. I remember people on this forum hoping Walters could sign him...