CFL Commissioner Stuart Johnston has promised greater transparency with fans, and it appears that may extend to the financial details of players' contracts.
In his address to the League, Johnston expressed openness to the idea of creating Player salaries are public, as are many professional leagues around the world, including the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB.
“Until now I haven’t had this topic to discuss,” he said. “It could probably be included in our January winter meetings, but yes (I'm open to it). I want our fans to have as much access to data in our league as possible, and the talk list was the start of that.”
Johnston broke with decades of league policy and tradition when he continuously published the negotiating lists of all nine teams in July.. This process of approving and preserving the rights of future players has previously been a closely guarded secret, with periodic revelations in recent years revealing only a fraction of the prospects. Fans can now track which players are being added or removed from their team's roster through a page on the league's website, which is updated daily.
A similar feature for player salaries has long been desired by fans, although Johnston cannot create it unilaterally as he did with the negotiating list. Publication of financial details of contracts will require approval from CFL Players Association (CFLPA), although their leadership has also indicated thathey, ready to explore this possibility.
“This conversation has been happening at our annual meetings for several years now,” CFLPA Executive Director David Mackie said during his State of the Union address. “What is important to us is the privacy of our members, but there may be an appetite there. If the commissioner says it will be on their agenda in January, we will ensure that the conversation takes place.”
The release of salaries in other leagues has created opportunities for fan engagement. Numerous websites have been created to build rosters and identify players that teams can afford, ensuring that offseason conversations are as rigorous as they are on game day.
The CFL has not gone down this route, in part because of concerns that players' comparatively low salaries compared with their millionaire NFL counterparts could become a source of embarrassment. However, with a minimum salary of $70,000, which is above the national average, and the average player earning Currently, current CFL athletes, around $100,000, are probably making more than the public perception.
With the league's salary cap changing over the last few years, CFLPA President Solomon Elimimian believes making salaries public could help that dynamic.
“I think there are some benefits to open salary disclosure,” he said. “There is a way to promote the game. Let's be honest, everything is fast and digital. Fans want to see different perspectives on the game they love. There may also be some downsides to it. We will have internal discussions and talk with the CFL.”
Salary disclosure is not a new topic of discussion. However, with the league's new leadership, negotiations could become more serious in the next few months.
“This has been discussed at the last two or three annual general meetings,” Mackie said. “The reason the conversation took place was to see if there was an appropriate way to sell this right and whether it would truly enhance the perception and professionalism of the league. We will continue to have that conversation.”
Commissioner Johnston plans to release the agenda for this year's winter meetings in the coming weeks. Given the mutual interest of both sides in this topic, this may not be the last internal information he has previously published.
