2018 CFL Season

[thurmas]

So what will unfold in the world of 3 down football in 2018:

Will David Braley finally sell off the BC Lions? What will happen to Lulay?

Can the Stamps finally get some traction on a new stadium or retrofit for McMahon stadium?

Are the Eskimos going to trade Franklin to the Alouettes for a shot at being a starting QB?

Can the Bombers take the next step and break their 27 year Grey Cup drought?

Will Argos fan interest and attendance build off the momentum of their Grey Cup Triumph?

Can the Alouettes halt their decline since the end of the Calvillo era and get back to respectability?

Will the CFL sign a new TV deal with the NFL network and for how much?

Will the CFL regular season start earlier on June 1st and do we see the first ever Halloween Grey Cup in October?

Will both Johnny Manziel and Colin Kaepernick be playing for the Ticats and Alouettes?

[tomthumb2]

Geez, I'd have to answer no to all of those!

[isaidso]

Perhaps we can just call it 'football' and the unique brand they play down south '4 down football'. That's what I'd like to see in 2018.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Perhaps we can just call it 'football' and the unique brand they play down south '4 down football'. That's what I'd like to see in 2018.

Four downs is the Johnny-come-lately idea. Three downs was the original standard and is real football.

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by thurmas

So what will unfold in the world of 3 down football in 2018:

Will David Braley finally sell off the BC Lions? What will happen to Lulay?

Can the Stamps finally get some traction on a new stadium or retrofit for McMahon stadium?

Are the Eskimos going to trade Franklin to the Alouettes for a shot at being a starting QB?

Can the Bombers take the next step and break their 27 year Grey Cup drought?

Will Argos fan interest and attendance build off the momentum of their Grey Cup Triumph?

Can the Alouettes halt their decline since the end of the Calvillo era and get back to respectability?

Will the CFL sign a new TV deal with the NFL network and for how much?

Will the CFL regular season start earlier on June 1st and do we see the first ever Halloween Grey Cup in October?

Will both Johnny Manziel and Colin Kaepernick be playing for the Ticats and Alouettes?

Can't answer any with certainty, but I believe Braley won't do anything during the season next year

Ambrosie has said if they do move the season up, it won't be until 2019 as the GC date for next year in Edmonton is already set at Nov 25th, 2018

Manziel - maybe
Kap - can't see it, its not like he needs the CFL to showcase his talets to get back to the NFL, he is blackballed and if he ever came to the CFL its only because he wants to play football

[TimB09]

Don't forget, the CBA for the CFL is up after this year so there will be new league contract talks starting soon here too.

Key points will be players being looked after financially if they are injured and can no longer play football. Lots of players are out there vocally about what's happening there.

Concussions will be a hot topic as well. The CFL and the CFLPA have already agreed to ways to prevent concussions in practice and such but I bet there will be discussions on this.

Player salaries as always will be a discussion point too. I'm sure first year players will want a bump in their salaries and the salary cap will be discussed too.

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by TimB09

Don't forget, the CBA for the CFL is up after this year so there will be new league contract talks starting soon here too.

Key points will be players being looked after financially if they are injured and can no longer play football. Lots of players are out there vocally about what's happening there.

Concussions will be a hot topic as well. The CFL and the CFLPA have already agreed to ways to prevent concussions in practice and such but I bet there will be discussions on this.

Player salaries as always will be a discussion point too. I'm sure first year players will want a bump in their salaries and the salary cap will be discussed too.

I am also sure the Canadian (National) QB issue and whether they count as part of the ratio will be front and centre especially with the emergence of Brandon Bridge and to a lesser extent Andrew Buckley.

[esquire]

Good point, I had forgotten all about the CBA.

There was a feeling last time that the CFLPA settled for way less than it should have (kind of hard to argue... players are making pretty much the same type of money as they did 30 years ago which is practically unheard of in pro sports, at least on this continent). It'll be interesting to see what impact the next round of negotiations will have on the cap.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by esquire

Good point, I had forgotten all about the CBA.

There was a feeling last time that the CFLPA settled for way less than it should have (kind of hard to argue... players are making pretty much the same type of money as they did 30 years ago which is practically unheard of in pro sports, at least on this continent). It'll be interesting to see what impact the next round of negotiations will have on the cap.

If they can get a lucrative NFL Network deal at the same time as the CBA is up, that might be perfect timing to give the cap a solid boost.

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by jonny24

If they can get a lucrative NFL Network deal at the same time as the CBA is up, that might be perfect timing to give the cap a solid boost.

Would be nice to see the cap go up but I can't see them ponying up that much for basically "filler" programming. ESPN seems to get 250-350K per game, even if they could get that up to 500K, how much would they pay?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by cjones2451

Would be nice to see the cap go up but I can't see them ponying up that much for basically "filler" programming. ESPN seems to get 250-350K per game, even if they could get that up to 500K, how much would they pay?

Good question. The fact that they get those numbers with virtually zero promotion tells you that there is some upward potential there, especially if a big name like Manziel signs on. Even if they got something like US$10 million a year from a US network (not an absurd number given that MLS has a $75 million deal and its ratings on ESPN are literally within that 250-350K range although with more games) then that would make a noticeable difference. You'd be talking like an extra million dollars plus in team revenue per season.

But yeah, at the end of the day it will still be a minor amount relative to what the Canadian rightsholder will pay.

[q12]

ATLANTIC SCHOONERS were just trademarked!

http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/tr...ng=eng&tab=reg

[GernB]

Originally Posted by esquire

Good point, I had forgotten all about the CBA.

There was a feeling last time that the CFLPA settled for way less than it should have (kind of hard to argue... players are making pretty much the same type of money as they did 30 years ago which is practically unheard of in pro sports, at least on this continent). It'll be interesting to see what impact the next round of negotiations will have on the cap.

Hopefully the PA can negotiate a cap based on a percentage of gross revenues, like virtually every other league.

[cjones2451]

Originally Posted by GernB

Hopefully the PA can negotiate a cap based on a percentage of gross revenues, like virtually every other league.

I think until there is some type of revenue sharing, I don't see that happening

[esquire]

^ Looks like the rumblings are for real!

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, "Atlantic Schooners" isn't the greatest choice as that will be fully 3 out of 10 teams whose logo will be some form of stylized "A". That will also lead to two teams with nautical themes. But it seems to be What The People Want.

[GernB]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Looks like the rumblings are for real!

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, "Atlantic Schooners" isn't the greatest choice as that will be fully 3 out of 10 teams whose logo will be some form of stylized "A". That will also lead to two teams with nautical themes. But it seems to be What The People Want.

Easy fix. Argos revert to the "Jason" logo from the 1990s and the Alouettes bring back the red and white winged helmets. Too bad it won't happen.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by GernB

Alouettes bring back the red and white winged helmets. Too bad it won't happen.

I really like that uniform ensemble. I've never been keen on the red, white and blue, kinda busy for me. JMO

[elly63]

Originally Posted by GernB

Alouettes bring back the red and white winged helmets. Too bad it won't happen.

Don't speak too soon, your wish will be granted.

[cjones2451]

Terry Jones tweeted this out. Very impressive

BREAKING -- As of 4 p.m., only two hours into Grey Cup ticket sales there have been 46,796 tickets sold. It’s wild! Less than 10,000 remaining to a sellout. Could be gone in hours!

@byTerryJones

[GernB]

Originally Posted by elly63

Don't speak too soon, your wish will be granted.

It's a great idea, but this should be their standard uniform. What they wear now is just a mess...looks like a drunk with crayons designed it. Is that the pre-1970 CFL logo I see at the neckline?