THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — There’s a new harsh reality in the CFL.
Teams now seem to be making concerted efforts to stick to the league-mandated $4.2-million salary cap. That’s forcing general managers to make difficult decisions about high-priced veterans who’ve battled injuries in an effort to get maximum bang for their payroll dollar.
And that’s been clearly evident this off-season.
The B.C. Lions, shortly after losing to Saskatchewan in the West Division final, gave veteran quarterback Dave Dickenson his walking papers. The move wasn’t surprising as Dickenson, 34, had suffered three concussions the last two years and also missed 10 games with a knee injury in 2004.
With Dickenson’s $400,000 salary counting heavily against the then $4.05-million salary cap and promising youngster Jarious Jackson waiting in the wings, the Lions looked to their future. They released Dickenson to gain the financial flexibility needed to re-sign Jackson.
Like the NFL, CFL contracts are not guaranteed.
Money was also a factor in the Saskatchewan Roughriders releasing popular running back Corey Holmes last month.
Holmes was to earn $165,000 this season and receive a $30,000 roster bonus. But a day before the bonus was due he was released because his payout was deemed too excessive for a player who was expected to play part-time as the Riders had re-signed incumbent tailback Wes Cates following their Grey Cup championship win.
Last week, Saskatchewan dealt all-star defensive end Fred Perry to Edmonton for No. 3 quarterback Steven Jyles, with the teams also exchanging second-round draft picks. But the move had salary cap ramifications as less than two months after signing a new deal that would pay him $110,000 this year, Perry reportedly approached the Riders about re-doing the contract.
And on Thursday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats released defensive back Richard Karikari and offensive lineman Ryan Donnelly, both veterans.
Other prominent players to be released this off-season include running back John Avery, defensive back Davin Bush, kick-returner Albert Johnson III and receiver Chris Brazzell, to name a few.
"Cap economics are definitely a part of it now, no question," said Greg Mohns, the Toronto Argonauts assistant general manager. "It’s hard and fast now."
Economics played a role last year in Toronto releasing such veterans as receiver R. Jay Soward, linebacker Antonious Bonner, defensive end Eric England and defensive back Clifford Ivory.
But more teams opted to give players lucrative contract extensions due to a cap loophole. The 2006 season was a trial run for the CFL’s new salary management system with teams not being penalized if they exceeded the cap.
Teams had a window leading up to the ’06 Grey Cup to sign players to extensions with upfront money without fear of penalty, and many took advantage of the loophole.
However, such a loophole didn’t exist this year. So any monies spent on player payroll were to be accounted for under the cap. So if a high-priced veteran is injured and can’t play, not only must a team continue paying him but also his replacement.
"Teams are saying now they’re not going above a certain number so that’s what you have to work with," Mohns said. "And if you do go over, your job is on the line."
Teams can get around the cap by placing a player on the nine-game injury list because while he continues to get paid that money is exempt from the cap. However, the player can’t play over the nine-week period, meaning a club must pay his replacement.
If the injury is minor, teams tend to keep the player on the roster — often on the four-man inactive list. However, the player still receives his full salary and it counts against the cap.
The cap also has far-reaching implications in free agency.
It’s harder now for teams to make a huge splash in the off-season by signing an abundance of free agents to lucrative deals. Do that and a CFL GM would be forced to make roster cuts and find cheaper — usually younger and less experienced — players to get under the $4.2-million ceiling.
Not that re-signing your own free agents is easy, either. Winnipeg GM Brendan Taman has nine players slated to become free agents at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday, including defensive end Tom Canada and offensive linemen Dan Goodspeed and Matt Sheridan. Trouble is, all nine figure to want raises — some significant — and Taman doesn’t have the cap room to accommodate his top three players, let alone all nine.
And Taman’s chances of re-signing Goodspeed, Canada or Sheridan diminish if they hit the open market because he can’t afford to get into a bidding war with clubs that have more cap space.
"It’s a real challenge, that’s for sure," Taman said. "Right now I’m fighting against my budget.
"But once they hit the open market, all bets are off."
Darren Gill, a Montreal-based agent who represents 45 CFL players, including Sheridan, said the salary cap has affected how he does his job.
"Teams are starting to feel it, for sure, and now veterans are starting to take pay cuts and when teams are negotiating this is a reality," he said. "It affects the way they negotiate new contracts with players.
"As we head into free agency players never used to really get priced out of the market … but now you can sign a great deal for a player but in a year’s time that player might be a casualty. Teams are almost looking at (contracts) as one-year deals because they know the following year because there’s no guaranteed money you can give a higher dollar value knowing when it comes down to it, they know they’re not going to have to pay it. Some players are asking for (big) money, and it’s great if you can get it, but in the long run it’s a bad strategy."
.Gill believes signing a deal that leaves both parties happy is a better approach than playing hardball to squeeze every penny he can from a team.
"I’ve always had the mindset that you’re trying to provide value for both parties," he said. "In negotiation, if the other team feels it’s getting a raw deal, the deal will never work anyways."
One player currently on the open market is Avery, the former NFL first-round pick who spent four seasons with Toronto before being released in the off-season. Avery opened plenty of eyes in 2002 when he ran for 1,448 yards in his first CFL season with Edmonton, but was unable to match those numbers with Toronto.
"This is a first for me so I don’t know whether the salary cap will hurt me," Avery said. "I had some good games with Toronto where a lot of people said I could still get it done, but I don’t think I got the chance to market myself as a force.
"I’ll have to see how it goes. I’ll be taking notes as I go."
There are penalties for exceeding the cap.
Teams are fined $1 for every dollar they’re over up to $100,000. The penalty increases to $2 for every $1 from $100,000 to $300,000 plus the loss of a first-round draft pick. If a club is $300,000 or more over the cap, it’s fined $3 for every dollar it’s over and also loses first- and second-round draft picks.
The CFL is auditing all eight of its teams this off-season to see if they complied with last year’s $4.05-million cap. The league boosted the cap to $4.2 million last month.
.The results are expected to revealed in April.
