Seven of eight teams under the cap

[B.C.FAN]

Saskatchewan was the only team over the CFL salary cap in 2008 and was fined $87,000 but won't lose a draft pick.
Link

[Rammer]

Paying that extra $87K can easily be justified with the home playoff date. This is the second season in a row that the Riders have been found guilty of the dollar for dollar range of the soft cap, perhaps a hard cap would have resulted in a different result during the season. Yeah I went there, only because at some point someone is going to bring it up.... :lol:

[Wakesbetterthanyou]

They should be punished more severely since it is a second straight offense. Removal of the team for one season sounds about right to me

[QB Club 63]

Here's an informal poll on an appropriate punishment for the Riders:

A. They should forfeit their draft pick for this year and next year.
B. They should be fined an amount equal to how much they exceeded the cap.
C. They should be pelted with beer cans.
D. There should be no action. Having to live in Regina is punishment enough.

You should have seen that coming...

[Big Time]

Ahh... once again the team that never EVER used injuries as an excuse last year (even though they brought it up every interview they could), is now using injuries as the excuse for a second straight year of salary cap violations. It's bad enough that they will forever have a an asterisk next to their salary cap cheated Grey Cup victory, but to do it again without any such success is an even further slap in the face.

As for the punishment, I think that teams that violate the cap in consecutive years should be required to forfeit their first round pick in addition to the fine. The discipline should be progressive based on past transgressions. First year of violation, a fine based on the current sliding scale. Second year of violation, fine plus draft pick. Third year of violation, fine, draft pick and being forced to live in Regina... oh wait.

Regardless, the system as it currently stands basically means that teams can spend up to $99,999 beyond the current SMS level without any real fear of consequence.

[Big Time]

So I see now that the Riders have no first round pick for this year. What would be the consequences had they been required to forfeit the pick this year?

[Rammer]

So I see now that the Riders have no first round pick for this year. What would be the consequences had they been required to forfeit the pick this year?

Interesting, perhaps they would have to forfeit their 2010 1st round selection.

[ziggy]

Maybe you should be fined as per current policy and in addition the other teams allowed to go over by the same amount the following year with no penalty.

[Big Time]

Personally, I think an even more punitive measure would be that whatever amount you go over, you are required to deduct from your next year's cap. So if you went 100K over, you now have a 4.1 million cap instead of a 4.2 million cap like everyone else.

[joesports]

Seems fair to deduct from the following years cap the amount the offending team went over. The only exception would be the Riders since they should have any penalty multiplied by 100!!!

[korey&dante4ever]

Personally, I think an even more punitive measure would be that whatever amount you go over, you are required to deduct from your next year's cap. So if you went 100K over, you now have a 4.1 million cap instead of a 4.2 million cap like everyone else.

I like it... that could turn into one big vicious cycle.

[Rammer]

Personally, I think an even more punitive measure would be that whatever amount you go over, you are required to deduct from your next year's cap. So if you went 100K over, you now have a 4.1 million cap instead of a 4.2 million cap like everyone else.

I like it... that could turn into one big vicious cycle.

I like it also, it seems to really place an onus on making the SMS level, and if you don't you pay for it in next years SMS, vs just having the cash around to pay off your mis-management.

[Rammer]

So much for the image of the poor, small-market, Prairie folk to our immediate west.

Seems Rider Nation has been busy flashing its wad of cash, at least in CFL circles.

For the second year in a row, the Saskatchewan Roughriders went over the salary cap in 2008. Only this time, it's the only team that cheated.

The CFL released the results of its final audit yesterday, and Gang Green spent some $87,000 more than the $4.2-million the rules allow.

In the two years the CFL has put the financial radar gun on its members, just two, Montreal and Saskatchewan, have been caught reckless driving.

The Alouettes didn't surprise us in '07, blowing the budget by more than $100,000 and paying an equal fine, plus a draft pick.

The Riders told us they went over in '07 because of injuries. But that same excuse won't work this time.

That's because many of Saskatchewan's injuries last year sent players to the nine-game injury list, which is exempt from the cap.

"In terms of injured players on the nine-game reserve list, they were the highest," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon told us yesterday. "But those aren't counted. This really wasn't about injuries."

This was about plain, old-fashioned disregard of the rules, and the commish has already had a word with the Riders brass about it.

"It's really hard to judge intent," Cohon said. "What we're doing is trying to get the teams to understand the system is the best for the entire league. I have confidence in Jim Hopson and the board of governors. They support the cap. They believe in it."

Most of all, they believe in surpassing it.

$87,000 OVER CAP

OK, so 87 grand isn't that big a deal. Let's face it, the Riders can probably pay the fine, an equal amount, from the beer sales at the Labour Day game.

What really surprises us, though, isn't that the Green and White are a tad overzealous. It's that nobody else is.

Before the real cap came along, it was generally accepted the league's big spenders, teams like the Eskimos, Alouettes and Argonauts, treated the old "suggested" spending limit the way a rich athlete at the wheel of a sports car treats speed limits.

And while we applauded the league for implementing the new rules, we had our doubts it could really be enforced. Truth be told, we're still not completely convinced league auditors have found everything that was going on under the table.

"I'm very confident," Cohon said. "It's not a one-time look at the club's books. We're in there after six games, 12 games and 18 games. We spend a lot of time working with the clubs. We've been able to really dig deep into clubs and get co-operation from all of them."

We take it B.C. owner David Braley is no longer hiding his books from the auditors, as he reportedly did a couple of years ago.

"Any new system takes some time," Cohon said. "It's been two years in effect. It's had a profound impact."

I'LL SAY.

I mean, the monied Eskimos, with their 37,000 paying customers per game, are actually toeing the line? The privately held and deep-pocketed Argos haven't overspent by even a dime? Hamilton threw close to half a million, per, at quarterback Casey Printers, and didn't blow the cap?

IT'S A MINOR MIRACLE.

This is the same group that, just four years ago, went over the old cap of $2.5 million by an average of more than $1 million per team.

Setting the modern limit at $4.2 million was actually a little rich, we initially thought. A challenge for the community-owned teams. It's tough to make a profit, spending that much.

Turns out one of those Prairie teams doesn't mind a bit.

The obnoxious, rich guy in the neighbourhood now wears a farmer's cap and drives a pickup.

Go figure.

Contact Paul at paul.friesen@sunmedia.ca or 632-2788.

The 9 game injury list should have helped the Riders bottom line, instead they were actually over moreso due to having the extended roster that they carried all season.

[Hambone]

Personally, I think an even more punitive measure would be that whatever amount you go over, you are required to deduct from your next year's cap. So if you went 100K over, you now have a 4.1 million cap instead of a 4.2 million cap like everyone else.

I like it... that could turn into one big vicious cycle.

I like it also, it seems to really place an onus on making the SMS level, and if you don't you pay for it in next years SMS, vs just having the cash around to pay off your mis-management.

Be careful what you wish for. That's a very slippery slope. I'd be concerned if the Riders were $87K over after a relatively injury-free season. That would indicate a team ignoring the cap. I'd defy any GM to tell me they'd have finished under the cap if they had to pay the injury replacement costs the Riders did in 2008. I'd be willing to wager all 8 teams budget very similar dollars for injury replacements. I'd be surprised if the gap between highest and lowest is more than $25K. Personally I think the Rider situation shows that the SMS is for the most part working as it was intended. It may still need some tweaking and I'm sure GMs are still adjusting to working under it. Heaven knows as we've seen in the NHL some GMs understood their cap system immediately and others still are struggling to work with it. Hello Glen Sather.

We have one violation by a team that endured a rash of injuries the likes of which no team ever wants to face. According to Mark Cohon today the Riders costs for injury replacements was $120K higher than the next highest team. I think the CFL has to have a system in place that forces teams to budget room for injury replacements but doesn't get overly punitive if a team gets hit with an unusually high volume of injuries. Just as there is an obligation to adhere to the cap there is also an obligation for teams to be as competitive as possible while working within that system.

I'd hate to see us with a system that would be so punitive that it would force teams to make drastic moves in mid-season simply to avoid penalties for SMS violations brought on by injury replacement costs. Imagine if you will BC is battling with Calgary and Saskatchewan for playoff positioning and a home playoff date hangs in the balance.. BC has finished their season series with Edmonton but the Stamps and Riders have games left with the Esks. The Esks have been hit by a spate of injuries recently and will go over the SMS if they don't cut some payroll somewhere. If they go over the SMS this year their SMS limit next year is reduced and maybe they lose a draft pick. They don't want to do that so they start looking for a couple of veteran contracts that can be dumped to keep them below the cap. Keep in mind to make a difference they need to dump bigger ticket contracts. So they cut their starting left tackle and a defensive back and replace them with minimum wage rookies......and head off to battle Calgary this week and Saskatchewan next week.

Again be careful what you wish for.

[Rammer]

Appreciate your point Hambone, it is a tactic that could be used given the right circumstances. However, to suggest that the Riders were only over due to injuries isn't accurate IMO. They were able to right off all 9 game injury listed players, remembering that starters are paid higher than a replacement player, especially a Flick and Dominguez salary. Also, they did carry around Morley for the entire season and I can only recall one game that he got playing time in. He wasn't on the cheap either.

That said, if they spent $125K more than the next CFL franchise, I would support them on a plea bargain with the league, as that is an amount that is significantly higher than the average.