CFL Alouettes Owner Jim Speros has met with NFL Senior
VP/Football Development Roger Goodell "three times in recent
weeks to discuss some type of investment" in the CFL starting
next season, according to the CANADIAN PRESS. Speros confirmed
he has had talks since early August with a goal of getting the
CFL affiliated with the NFL. Speros said the aim of talks is to
"somehow merge together to have a league where we could get the
best players," adding that any deal would likely be phased in
over a period of up to five years. NFL Dir of Communications
Greg Aiello also confirmed meetings but added it would be that
"premature would be an understatement" in predicting anything
happening by next season. Aiello: "Part of Roger's
responsibilities are to meet with people and discuss ideas, even
if they are far-fetched." Speros said one possibility would be
to allow NFL teams to place five developmental players on each
CFL roster and he said there have been "discussions about the NFL
providing compensation to CFL teams who players join" the NFL
(Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/18).
REAX: An editorial in this morning's CALGARY HERALD notes
"Don't do it," regarding an NFL affiliation: "The financially
troubled league has nothing to gain and everything -- including
its self respect -- to lose by crawling, helmets in hand, to the
National Football League owners in the U.S." (CALGARY HERALD,
9/18). It Ottawa, the CP notes "skepticism abounds" over NFL
investment. Hamilton Tiger Cats Chair David MacDonald: "We're
not going to do anything that makes (the CFL) a minor league."
Blue Bombers President Lynn Bishop: "Let's get our league settled
down, that's our first priority" (CP/OTTAWA CITIZEN, 9/18).
OTHER NEWS: Three community-owned CFL clubs, the
Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Edmonton
Eskimos, have told the EDMONTON SUN they will not start play next
season "unless other clubs prove to them they can mike it through
without financial assistance." The three non-profit clubs are
believed to have paid more than C$3M each to support financially
troubled teams in the past ten years (Terry Jones, TORONTO
SUN/EDMONTON SUN, 9/18).
