Photo: John E. Sokolowski/CFLPA
The Canadian Football League Players’ Association is preparing for another round of report cards this offseason.
The project, which saw all nine CFL franchises receive letter grades in eight different categories based on player surveys, was unveiled for the first time last December, generating headlines across the country. One year later, the organization believes it was an overwhelming success.
“100 percent, and I’ll go a step further. When I go visit teams, that’s one of the first things they talk about,” CFLPA president Solomon Elimimian said earlier this month. “That’s how we know it works, because they got the feedback and they made some positive changes, and we’re looking to do it again this year in an improved format.”
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders made out pretty well in the rankings, tying for the top spot with B grades overall. Other franchises were not so lucky, as the Edmonton Elks finished dead last with a D+, while both the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders recorded a C-.
The poor grades put those organizations under intense scrutiny, but Elimimian believes most have taken the public call-out in stride.
“Initially, it might have been tough, but I think teams have come around to it. The conversations I have with teams is that they’re looking forward to report cards because they can go and advocate to their owners on things that they need to lure guys in free agency to come to clubs,” he said.
“We look at this as constructive feedback, not criticism. You should want to be better as a business. You should want to improve the performance of our players to make sure that they’re able to perform at the highest level. We are in professional sports — we all get graded.”
Elimimian cited several examples of specific improvements made by teams to address issues flagged in the inaugural report card.
While the Calgary Stampeders already had plans to replace the aging turf at McMahon Stadium that drew the ire of players, they also worked with the Calgary Flames to institute a new meal program after they drew ridicule from across the league for serving cold cereal and stale bagels.
After players complained about the quality of the B.C. Lions’ amenities, owner Amar Doman erected a temporary outdoor workout area at the team’s Surrey practice facility while renovations began on the interior gym and player lounge. That was done despite the fact that the team wants to move to a new building in the near future.
In Winnipeg, the Blue Bombers chartered a new plane after players complained their old one was cramped and falling apart. Elimimian also touted improvements to the in-flight snacks, joking, “I don’t think they’re eating Goldfishes anymore.”
He believes the teams that show improvement year over year will reap rewards in the long run, as players learn which organizations actually care about their experiences.
“For us, this is a tool for our members,” he said. “When our members are looking around in the offseason, saying, ‘Where should I go play?’ The report card is the tool that they have to say, ‘You know what? I’ll go over here because they treat the families good,’ or ‘I’ll go over here because they have proper nutrition.’”
The CFLPA was inspired to institute report cards after the NFLPA began a similar project south of the border in 2023. That has not been well received by owners in that league, and the NFL recently filed a grievance against their union after repeated requests to stop the publication of the grades.
CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston did not close any doors available to him when asked about the possibility of a similar grievance during his State of the League address, but did strike a sunny tone regarding relations with the union.
“I’ve been very pleased with the relationship that I’ve begun personally, and we have, I think, transformed at the league, between the league and the PA,” he said. “Look, we’re not going to agree on everything, and we acknowledge that, and that’s fine. We have systems in place to manage disagreement. I’m incredibly supportive of those types of conversations.”
Elimimian believes that all parties benefit from the current report card structure and that the upcoming second wave will show just how positive an effect it has had.
“It’s a good thing, and we should, as a league, want to strive to be better. I think it’s been received well, and we’re excited for the transparency once again coming up shortly,” he said. “Let’s challenge the teams to be better. That’s a good thing.”