CFL players vote to turn down new collective bargaining agreement with league: report

CFL players have rejected the new collective bargaining agreement with the league.

According to the source, CFL players voted against ratifying the tentative deal reached Wednesday between the league and CFL Players' Association. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity Monday as neither the CFL nor the CFL Players' Association immediately confirmed the vote.

But news of the rejection is somewhat surprising given there were reports one team's players were still voting on the deal.

The CFLPA executive recommended acceptance of the deal, which featured increases to the CFL salary cap ($100,000 annually starting next year) and minimum salary (from $65,000 to $75,000 by 2027). It also included a revenue-sharing formula for the union and gave players a chance to have the final year of their contracts guaranteed up to 50 per cent.

And while the CBA called for a return to padded practices — one hour weekly during the regular season to a maximum of 12 — it extended medical coverage for retired players to five years from three.

The deal also called for the number of Canadian starters to increase from seven to eight but that would include a nationalized Canadian — an American who has spent either five years in the CFL or at least three with the same team. In addition, three other nationalized Canadians could play up to 49 per cent of all snaps on either side of the ball.

And that bothered many current Canadian players, to the point where there were legitimate concerns whether the CBA would be ratified. The rejection of the agreement only creates more uncertainty with the exhibition season — which had been amended because of the earlier stoppage — scheduled to begin Friday night with two games.

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