Fines and the 2025 Draft

[theaardvark]

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?

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. 

[Blue In BC]

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.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

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?

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?

Doman purchase the Lions in 2021, to do so he needed to meet with and be accepted and 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.

[theaardvark]

    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 

[theaardvark]

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.

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.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

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.

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.

[theaardvark]

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.

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...

[TecnoGenius]

Wouldn't the reasonable thing to do be to wait and see if the system functions properly before losing our minds about it?

I don't recall if you were one of them, but some people said precisely this when BC re-signed Rourke/Betts mid-season and the whole CFL fanbase was up in arms (some fan forums more than others).

Someone said at the time something like "the sms totals aren't tallied until December so there's no point talking about it now".

Yes, there is a point to talking about these things "now" and not 9 months later, because "now" pressure can be applied to the parties to stop the cheating NOW.  9 months later the cheater just says "oops, my bad" after they got all the benefit of the cheating.

It's really lucky for Doman & the league that BC still stunk after Rourke came back.  If they had won every game and won the cup the uproar about "buying their wins" would have been getting quite loud indeed.

And, yes, fans in an uproar, and then media pundits and hosts running with that uproar, and public stinks being made, does influence league/commish decisions, especially when the cheating is obvious and egregious.  The league cares about optics (as proven when they banned Kelly for half a season).

[TecnoGenius]

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?

They end up like most returning NFL rejects mid-season: they do the Henoc mercenary shopping tour and then sign with their non-previous team for huge bucks.  That's where they end up.

This is a normal part of league business every single season.  It seems good for the league to have that normal competition and allow teams to bid on landing a top player as their mid-season needs dictate.

How about the prudent GM who leaves SMS space for returning NFLers, both other-team players as well as their-team players?  If BC didn't have SMS left, but KW did, why should BC get to outbid KW?  I bet KW could have finagled $150k/2 for Betts without going over SMS at that point.  And it would have been a dire need for WFC (with no real 2nd DE).  Who's to say this didn't cost us the cup?

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.

This fact makes the act even more egregious.  They perfectly gamed the system ignoring their DP "punishment" because Rourke/Betts are basically the best 2 NAT "draft picks" you could ever hope to get.

Its going to be a long while until we see a team forfeit DP's again.

I bet we see a team do it again this season.  Precedent has been set, and now both BC and EDM have very deep pockets indeed.  I'd even make a wager on it.

I'm not really sure why many people want to defend BC/Doman on this.  It's slimy and against the spirit that every team has abided by since I started following CFL again in '13.  BC sucks.

[TecnoGenius]

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.

How many "coming home" NFLers has WFC had to pass on in the last decade?  Many.  We rarely take the rejects back mid-season.  Ford was an aberration.  You think it's only because we don't want to?

Remember Henoc?  Ya, that situation is the norm for WFC.  And we could have desperately used him at the time as I think we were still starting Hurl there.  I guess KW should have just "pulled a Doman"?

The SMS is the SMS and the teams have to make the effort to stay within it.  And almost all always do within +/- $100k.  I think previously this forum showed that maybe only 1 other team has ever gone much over $100k over in the last decade.  What BC did is beyond the pale.

[TecnoGenius]

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.

That's the part that takes my aggravation to extreme levels.  I totally understand going over to get Rourke.  He'll be their franchise QB for the next 5+ years.  QB wins you games.

But also going over with crazy money for Betts is just rubbing it in our faces.  They did not have to do that, and if they knew they were taking in both (which they did), they should have let Betts do the normal Henoc tour and sign elsewhere (or accept "normal" DE money).

[TecnoGenius]

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...

As is normal and within the spirit of the SMS.  However, given that it was mid-season, only teams that had purposely saved SMS space before week 1 (or had many injuries) would have been bidding!

In all likelihood Betts would have gotten more around $150k (divided by 2 for mid-season) instead of $225k.  Maybe on a half-year contract only, or a $150/$190 1.5 year contract.  That would be "normal" for the situation.

[Blue In BC]

Another mock draft. The last two I've seen have the Bombers drafting a QB in the early rounds. This one has the Bombers drafting Findlay and Zorn at DB and RB respectively. Both sound like good candidates but I have no idea what the team wants to do or will be able to do. OTOH, I see these two as possibly filling certain depth needs and having upside.

Will we really see 2 QB's drafted in the 2nd round?  That might be a 1st if it does.   We'll see how the NFL draft and signings of UDFA's impacts choices.

https://3downnation.com/2025/04/09/john-hodges-2025-cfl-mock-draft-2-0/

[GOLDMEMBER]

Confused Football League

[TecnoGenius]

One thing I've learned about Mafia and the draft is you never can tell what positions they'll prioritize.  Last year I think most thought we'd go OL and REC, but weren't most of our early picks FB/TE and D?

I really don't want to see us trade away our 1RDP this time.  If anything we should trade some of that bonus 2RDP for another 1RDP!