This Is Our League

The Buffalo Bills recently announced that they’re in talks with Rogers Communications to renew their agreement to play one NFL regular season game per year and one NFL preseason game every other year at Toronto 's Rogers Centre. This is a move that was originally designed to create more revenue for the financially-challenged Bills, while developing more of an international presence for the NFL. However, the undertones are not-so-subtle and impossible to ignore. The Buffalo Bills, an American sports institution since 1960, dating back to the old AFL, are playing an American game on Canadian soil, essentially "sponsored" by one of Canada 's largest companies. What's more, they are playing in the same building as current Canadian Football League staple, The Toronto Argonauts.

Bills owner Ralph Wilson is 93 years old. His family has no desire to keep the franchise in the event of his passing. Thus, Bills fans have long worried about the future of their beloved team. The “Bills Toronto Series”, originally conceived in 2008, has only fueled their anxiety. Rogers Communications, Canada 's answer to Verizon, is essentially waiting for Wilson to pass away so they can offer a gazillion dollars to purchase the team. In a perfect world, they would surely move the franchise to their home base in Toronto , thus giving Canada 's largest city two football teams... in separate leagues!

A Rogers-financed team would create a financial windfall, the likes of which would make the Redskins & Cowboys green with envy. The NFL has made no secret of their desire to expand beyond the United States . However, a move to Canada would likely trigger an antitrust lawsuit from the CFL.

That’s not to say the NFL isn’t capable of winning in court, though. Remember when the USFL filed an antitrust suit against the NFL in the 1980’s? The USFL won. They were awarded $1 in punitive damages. The USFL never played another game. The CFL has operated on a limited budget for as long as I can remember. They have 8 current teams. Eight! A new Ottawa franchise has been in the works for years, but has yet to get off the ground due to financial difficulties. The CFL averages 30,000 fans per game. The largest crowd they’ve ever had for any contest is just over 69,000. The NFL has 32 teams, and it’s a big deal when any one of their games does NOT sell out. Their smallest venue is Chicago ’s Soldier Field, which holds 61,500.

Acrimony never used to be an issue between the two leagues. The CFL tried to expand into the U.S. in the 1990’s. However, attendance & revenue became a huge issue from the start, as American fans were largely reluctant to accept the Canadian version of football. In 1996, the CFL’s American expansion was dead and buried, and they needed a $3 million loan from the NFL to cover their losses. In return for the loan, the NFL was granted limited access to players in the final year of their CFL contracts. This essentially gave NFL teams the option to offer contracts to such CFL mainstays as Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia. The agreement expired in 2006. The two sides attempted to reach a new deal until 2008 when the CFL broke off negotiations. The reason? Rogers Communications paid $78 million to host eight Buffalo Bills games in Toronto over five seasons.

The CFL currently has a U.S. TV contract with the NFL Network. Let me spell this out. The CFL won’t allow an NFL team to operate in Canada . However, they have no problem taking the NFL’s money to show their product on American TV. The NFL had no such issue with the CFL operating a franchise in the U.S. Now, they are paying money to the CFL to show their (inferior) product? Who does this benefit? Granted, the NFL Network made the deal in the midst of this past summer’s lockout, as their season was still in doubt. Certainly, the CFL isn’t getting the proper recognition south of the border, despite endless love and support from Chris Berman. I’ve never seen anyone actually wear an Anthony Calvillo jersey, other than Anthony Calvillo himself. You can probably find someone wearing a Peyton Manning jersey in any bar in any country on any given Sunday.

Hypothetically, if the CFL were to file suit, they would probably settle out of court in lieu of spending all their money on lawyers and bankrupting their league in the process. Either way, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Toronto Bills take the field before the end of the decade.

There could always be a “Plan B” scenario in which Rogers buys the Bills, keeps them in Buffalo , and uses their vast resources to create a U.S. presence. Eventually, they could challenge Verizon and T-Mobile for U.S. communications supremacy. Imagine that? Verizon and T-Mobile sponsoring the NFL while losing revenue and customers to their competition via the NFL’s revenue-sharing agreement?!? Oh, and Rogers might build a new stadium in Buffalo while they’re at it. Enter Personal Seat Licenses and raised ticket prices. Who does western New York have to thank for it all? The NFL. Bills fans are probably better off letting their team cross the border.

It's apparent to me that there is only one solution that will benefit, if not please, everyone involved. The NFL and CFL need to merge. First off, there’s a perfectly good precedent. The NFL and AFL (of which the Bills were once a member) merged in 1970 to avoid a bitter fight over talent and revenue. Secondly, the NHL has teams in both countries, as does MLB and the NBA. They all have widespread North American appeal. I understand and respect the sanctity and tradition of the Canadian Football League, but the unfortunate reality is becoming apparent. When the largest of Canadian entities would rather invest in struggling NFL teams than their own league, something drastic needs to be done. If the writing isn’t on the wall yet, then the sharpie is cocked and ready. Suffice to say, it would be a tremendous financial opportunity for the CFL to join forces with the NFL.

Certainly, the biggest issue with such an undertaking would be to address the rules differences between the two leagues. Canada has 3 downs instead of 4, 12 players per side instead of 11, and 110-yard fields instead of 100-yarders. Some may suggest the games be played per the home team's rules, much like MLB plays the World Series with or without a DH based on which league is hosting. That's just too confusing. Unfortunately, the Canadian teams are outnumbered and under-funded & need to conform. My solution: all games will be played under traditional NFL rules, with one exception. The Pro Bowl will be moved to the end of the regular season PRIOR to the playoffs. That game will always have a Canadian host city and will always be played under traditional CFL rules. Plus, each Canadian NFL team will send at least one representative to the Pro Bowl.

The NFL Draft would include players from both the U.S. and Canada . There would no longer be “Import” rules like they have in the current CFL.

The new NFL would expand by 8 teams, 4 per conference, for a grand total of 40 teams. The following divisions would be added:

AFC Canada - Toronto , Montreal , Ottawa , Winnipeg
NFC Canada - Saskatchewan , Edmonton , Calgary , Vancouver (B.C.)

Unfortunately, we would say goodbye to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. They are the most logical choice for contraction being that they are the smallest market and they're sandwiched between two larger-market teams in Buffalo and Toronto.

As for the Grey Cup, it will be awarded during the preseason. The NFL holds its Hall of Fame Game in Canton to start the year. The Grey Cup will now be held the same weekend in Hamilton between the two Canada division winners from the previous year. The winner of that game gets the Grey Cup. Sorry to piss on tradition even more so than I already am, but the Super Bowl winner already gets the Lombardi Trophy.

Week 1 always starts on Labor (Labour?) Day weekend. Using the 2012 calendar, 17 weeks later brings us to December 23rd for the final regular season game. As previously noted, the Pro Bowl is held the week after, followed by new playoff format! 5 division winners plus 3 wild cards. The lowest-seeded division winner in each conference must play in the First Round with the 3 wildcards. From there, 6 teams remain in each conference and the traditional NFL playoff rules apply. Thus, we have an extra week of playoffs. Seeds #3 and #4 get a week off, and the top 2 teams in each conference get TWO weeks off to rest up and heal. The extra week of Super Bowl hype is eliminated, and who needs it anyway? It’s the freakin’ Super Bowl! Using the 2012-2013 calendar, the big game happens on February 3rd, 2013.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my long-winded solution to all that currently ails the CFL, and all the potential headaches the NFL could have in the near future. I’m sure Canadian football fans would consider this whole thing blasphemous. Please believe me when I say I like Canada . If you’re not down with all that, feel free to take the New York Islanders to Moncton , Hamilton , Halifax , or Red Deer and have more hockey teams, eh!