Toronto — The CFL and CFLPA have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, subject to ratification by the players and approval of the league’s Board of Governors.
The CFL will have no further comment until those steps have been completed.
There was a concern than training camps for the 9 teams including the BC Lions would not start on time this Sunday. It appears that the boys will be en route to Kamloops for the start of camp.
The recent round of bargaining began Sunday night and Tuesday’s session was the final scheduled face-to-face session prior to the end of the current deal.
The tentative deal announced early Wednesday morning replaces a five-year contract that was set to expire Saturday.
As the CFL does not have the financial where with all as the NFL, both players and owners knew that any strike or job action would be detrimental to the league.
In 2014, contract talks between the CFL and CFLPA were almost at the breaking point.. Negotiations broke down several times before players and owners hammered out a five-year agreement.
CFL players have gone on strike once in the league’s history. That was 1974, but that was settled prior to the start of the regular season.
BC Lions Mike Reilly has said that no one wanted a work stoppage. The pay equity gap has always been a thorny issue, although the salary cap philosophy is understood by all parties. In essence, that has saved the CFL from major disaster.
