New CBA ratified by both sides

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DanoT
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Toppy Vann wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 3:05 pm
Two Provisions in the CBA with future repercussions for Canadians in the CFL:

https://www.tsn.ca/two-provisions-in-th ... -1.1313456

I believe neither provision goes into effect this season.
The first is the provision allowing teams to replace any Canadian starter who suffers an in-game injury with a veteran American, defined in the new agreement as a player with at least four years in the CFL or three with his current team.
Remember the old days of the designated divers to slow down games late this would make it advantage to have the designated injure-prone player to take a dive on the first play from scrimmage.

Also worthy of attention is the provision that allows an American or global player graduating with a degree from a U Sports school to automatically quality as a Canadian in the CFL, as long as he has played at least three seasons at a Canadian university.
This is a bit problematic as it could fill up Canadian teams with Americans.

I'd have preferred something like the old rule way where a player becoming a citizen after 5 years no longer was an import. That would lead to teams wanting to keep their International top players longer to get that bonus of the player becoming a National.

I might have that old rule off base, but something to keep players in one place longer would be a good thing. But that only works if there's more cap space to pay the player better.


Any American who plays for a Canadian university is doing so most likely because he is not good enough for a scholarship to a US university...so having him play as a NAT likely wouldn't give a CFL team a big edge.

As far as allowing Americans who become Canadian citizens to play as NATs: this was scraped years ago and for good reason. In the 60s the TiCats took advantage of this loophole more than other teams but when they went as far as having 2 future Hof interior D linemen, Mosca and Barrow, playing side by side as NATs... that was too much of an unfair advantage and lead to the closing of the loophole.
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KnowItAll
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so I heard during the game that only 2 qbs will be allowed to dress for games starting 2020. I absolutely hate this. Does anybody know why they would do this
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B.C.FAN
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KnowItAll wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:15 pm
so I heard during the game that only 2 qbs will be allowed to dress for games starting 2020. I absolutely hate this. Does anybody know why they would do this
Teams now have the option of dressing two QBs instead of three, and have had since the last CBA was ratified in 2014. I've heard the Lions plan to dress only two this year. That saves a salary. They can keep a No. 3 QB on the practice roster.
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B.C.FAN
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More details of the CBA are finally being revealed after more than six months of fine tuning.

I haven't read the full document but some key developments have been confirmed:

- Teams must now have 10 national starters instead of seven but three of those can be American players who have been with the team for a minimum of three years or in the league for a minimum of four years.

- If a national starter is injured, he can be replaced by another American who meets the definition of a national starter above.

- Active rosters remain at 44 or 45 players (the Lions dressed 44 last year) but teams must dress two Global players and two quarterbacks. A national starting quarterback will be counted as one of the team's 10 national starters. (The CBA does not prohibit teams from carrying a third QB on the reserve list, injured list or practice roster or designating him as a national or American and use him in a variety of roles.)

Here are some excerpts, courtesy of JC Abbott on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JC_AbbottCFL/status ... 48224?s=20

Here's a link to the full 123-page document, courtesy of Daniel Austin of Postmedia:
https://calgarysun.com/sports/football/ ... -agreed-on
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B.C.FAN
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Randy Ambrosie clarified the quarterback rule for 2020 today on the Rod Pedersen show from the league's winter meetings. Teams must carry at least two quarterbacks on their active roster. They can carry three if they so choose. (The Lions carried two last year.)
“Nobody is prevented from having a third quarterback on their roster. It just eliminated that third quarterback rule. So nobody should be concerned that we won’t see teams carrying three quarterbacks — that’s a decision the teams will make.”
https://twitter.com/RodPedersenShow/sta ... 85664?s=20
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DanoT
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Won't it be a game time headache keeping track of the the 3 Americans who are the vets counted as Canadians or does it mean that there is a new category and every team will need at least 3 vets on the roster with 4 years in the league or 3 with the same team?....or more than 7 CDN starters? It is getting too complex for me.
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Hambone
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DanoT wrote:
Wed Jan 08, 2020 6:33 am
Won't it be a game time headache keeping track of the the 3 Americans who are the vets counted as Canadians or does it mean that there is a new category and every team will need at least 3 vets on the roster with 4 years in the league or 3 with the same team?....or more than 7 CDN starters? It is getting too complex for me.
Border Services personnel will be stationed on each sideline to check passports and ID and compare you to the roster.

Maybe it's simpler than we think. Lots of folks thought tracking DIs was complicated when all the zebras really had to do was know who the 4 DIs were and make sure if one came on for an offensive or defensive play that an import came off. For this new thing maybe it's a simple as having to report in not unlike when an extra OL has to report in as an eligible receiver
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Hambone
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I could see the CIS thing being a way to draw Global types to CIS ball. With 500 NCAA and NAIA schools almost all of which offering scholarships I don't think an American kid thinking pro football is looking to CIS ball as a pathway to that. I think any American kid looking to CIS schools is likely pursuing a degree in a program that a Canadian school either has a very good reputation for or is hard to find down south. For the record last year of the 75 kids listed on UBC's roster there were 73 Canadians, 1 American and 1 Mexican. Arts was far and away the most listed program with probably 55 kids listed. Next was kiniseology with 8 or so and the highly acclaimed Sauder School of Business with a half dozen. I assume a good many of those in Arts are building credits towards transferring into other programs.
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Hambone
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I looked at a couple more CIS rosters for American or Global content:
Saskatchewan Huskies - 0
McMaster Marauders - 2 Americans; one studying Sociology and the other Philosophy & Biology
Windsor Lancers - can't get any closer to the border than Windsor. They had 1 American from over in Michigan studying Biological Sciences and another from Virginia studying Biology & Biochemistry
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B.C.FAN
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Jonathan Hudson of 3downnation.com has put together a good breakdown of the changes in the new CBA. Having read the new CBA, my understanding of the document coincides with his.

Exploring the CFL’s new collective bargaining agreement
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Gridiron Ernie
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I see congrats are in order to the esteemed Mr. Elimimian on being elected president of the CFLPA. He'll be a very good one I should think. I wish him well. https://3downnation.com/2020/02/27/solo ... president/
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Gridiron Ernie
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A short followup article focused on a few thoughts on the top of his mind upon Elimimian's election as CFLPA president -- he being only the second American to take that seat, the first was legend George Reed. https://3downnation.com/2020/03/04/new- ... er-safety/
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