CFL, union meet in Toronto with CBA deadline looming

TSN Football Insider

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Representatives of the Canadian Football League and the CFL Players’ Association will gather at an airport hotel in Toronto on Wednesday morning, with less than 100 hours to go before the deadline to execute a new collective agreement.

Getting the deal put to bed a few days before the existing CBA expires at midnight on Saturday would avoid some of the drama that accompanies the uncertainty over training camps opening Sunday and the season starting on time.

To be clear, we’ve been down this road before.

The issues may be different this time – the players are looking for an improved guarantee of future revenues, the league is looking for roster flexibility and the introduction of “naturalized” Canadians, and both sides are looking for ways to slow roster turnover – but the tone of disenchantment coming from the players’ side is not unique at this stage of negotiations.

The union has told its members to stay in their off-season homes until it sees what the league brings to the table on Wednesday. Many players, however, are already in their cities or on their way.

The teams have promised players they will be housed and fed throughout the training camp period, regardless of if there is a strike or not.

The CFLPA has told veteran quarterbacks not to participate in three-day rookie camps, which begin Wednesday, as they normally do.

After not meeting formally since last Thursday, the league has indicated to the players that it will arrive on Wednesday with a new proposal in hand.

How the players react to the new proposal will determine whether there’s a bumpy or smooth ride to the finish line.

But history tells us this will get done.

Work stoppages in sports have become rare because the