CANADA (WSYM) — The CFL just announced that it will not have a 2020 season, taking a similar if more definite stance to the Big 10, Pac-12 and MHSAA, which have said they will try for a Spring Season. The action is not a surprise, but if you’re a football fan their explanation for why they’re doing it is important to understand, because they have said out loud what every league official must have been thinking at some point.
It’s a financial decision.
The CFL relies in part on players and spectators from the US, and gets a large portion of it’s money from sales of tickets and food at games. In short, while the pandemic is still happening, they won’t be able to make money from games. The league had developed plans for a shortened season based in Winnipeg, but the Canadian government rejected the CFL’s request for a $30 million loan to help fund it.
Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement, “Our owners and community-held teams would have had to endure significant financial losses to play in 2020. Without it, the losses would be so large that they would really hamper our ability to bounce back strongly next year and beyond. The most important thing is the future of our league.”
We've touched on this before. Player health is a serious concern for all levels of play, but the farther you go from high school football the more decisions will become a financial calculation. A spring season may still happen for the Big 10, and the NFL still has plans to go forward with safety measures in place, but the CFL- which relies on packed stadiums to survive- will not have a 2020 season.
