{"id":415958,"date":"2026-01-17T19:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T19:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/415958\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T19:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T19:59:09","slug":"ed-hervey-embraces-being-unofficial-namesake-for-cfl-tampering-window","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/415958\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Hervey embraces being unofficial namesake for CFL tampering window"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Courtesy: David Moll\/CFL<\/p>\n

In 2020, the CFL introduced a window leading into free agency which allows teams to negotiate with pending free agents. Formally called the \u201ccommunication window,\u201d some call it the \u201ctampering window,\u201d though it also has another name.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they call it the \u2018Ed Hervey window,\u2019 I embrace it,\u00a0I quite enjoy it,\u201d the Edmonton Elks\u2019 general manager told 3DownNation.<\/p>\n

The colloquial term references an incident in 2013 during Hervey\u2019s first stint as Edmonton\u2019s GM. The team announced a major signing four minutes after free agency officially got underway and were later fined $10,000 for violating league tampering rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s the reality.\u00a0I\u2019ll say\u00a0the Odell Willis<\/a> thing was done intentionally. We debate\u00a0about it, we laugh about it, but I\u2019m gonna just shoot you straight. During that time,\u00a0the year before, there was\u00a0some things happening and\u00a0I went to the league, the league said, \u2018We had no proof.\u2019 I said, \u2018I\u2019ll give you proof,’\u201d Hervey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it had less to do with the proof, it had more to do with the amount of compensation that we were investing in these players, signing bonuses that they were asking for. I didn\u2019t see it as a benefit for someone to\u00a0ask for 100 grand, and you get to talk to them for 30 minutes and you commit to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The short timeline led to the three-down league and its players\u2019 association collectively bargaining a negotiating window. It was used for the first time in 2020<\/a> and has become a staple leading into the official market opening, giving teams over a week to get to know and negotiate with prospective free agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone said, \u2018Well, no, you got to wait,\u00a0when free agency opens, you should use that time.\u2019 But they\u2019re placed on a\u00a0clock, at that point. All of a sudden, the team tells you, \u2018You got 30 minutes to make a deal.\u2019 We\u2019re talking \u2014 where the compensation has gone over the last 10 to 15\u00a0years \u2014 the\u00a0reality is that\u00a0if there\u2019s an opportunity, I like more time to talk to be honest with you,\u201d Hervey said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was selling you beachfront property in Oklahoma, would you take it because I told you it was great?\u00a0No, you wouldn\u2019t. You\u2019d want to see it, you\u2019d\u00a0want to talk about it, you\u2019d want to do all those things. Unfortunately, we don\u2019t have the\u00a0luxury to do all of that (with free agents), but with respect to having a chance to speak to players and have them ask questions,\u00a0they\u2019re signing the contract,\u00a0they have to\u00a0go to bed at night and wake up\u00a0with that decision they\u2019ve made. All the other people that are around it\u00a0have nothing to do with it at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the communication window being created, CFL free agency happened fast and furious with large contracts being agreed to in short order. Hervey believes operating in that way was not in the best interest for any parties involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about the money, it\u2019s got to work for both sides:\u00a0the player and the organization.\u00a0The fact that we have a chance to talk to the players with that window, it allowed for us to make decisions, both for and against moving forward. Whereas years ago, we didn\u2019t have that \u2014 you were on a clock,\u00a0you crossed your fingers and hoped that you were getting someone that fits in your organization,\u201d Hervey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who\u2019s against the window,\u00a0they\u2019re against it for the wrong reasons. It should be longer, to be honest with you because you can\u2019t sign a contract during that time. If you were to ask for three years,\u00a0$300,000 a year, and you wanted a $200,000 signing bonus, shouldn\u2019t I, as the club, have an opportunity to sit down and talk with you? Beforehand someone said, \u2018Well, no, you can wait to free agency.\u2019 That\u2019s unrealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long live the CFL\u2019s communication window. If you call it the \u2018Ed Hervey window,\u2019 that\u2019s all right by him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Courtesy: David Moll\/CFL In 2020, the CFL introduced a window leading into free agency which allows teams to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[166835,166836,901,49,48,7028,521,522,520,13417,174753,174754,23752,13264,77213,94658,174755,55022,82,174756,81063,174757],"class_list":["post-415958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-3down","tag-3downnation","tag-alberta","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-ed-hervey","tag-ed-hervey-tampering-window","tag-ed-hervey-window","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-elks","tag-elks","tag-fine","tag-odell-willis","tag-proof","tag-sports","tag-tampering","tag-willis","tag-yeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}