Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, many sports leagues around the world have, for the most part, kept their fans up to date on when their seasons would resume. Most of the leagues canceled the remainder of the season, while others postponed their season until they had a plan in place. The CFL has been silent for the majority of the pandemic, and that is until now.
On Monday, all the speculation was confirmed, the league would not have a 2020 season. This was officially announced by league commissioner Randy Ambrosie in a statement saying, “Our league governors decided today it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future. We are absolutely committed to 2021, to the future of our league, and the pursuit of our vision of a bigger, stronger, more global CFL.”
This comes after the league was trying to get a loan from Canadian government officials for months. On their first attempt, they asked for a $150 million loan, then they revised the request to $42 million before settling on $30 million. The Canadian government denied the $30 million loan to the CFL. Had the CFL been granted the loan, they were planning to play a six-week schedule in Winnipeg.
It’s no question that the CFL has had a bad business model for decades. This league nearly went bankrupt in the ’90s, and what saved them was expansion fees for teams in the United States. While sports leagues get their revenue from television contracts, sponsors, merchandise, etc., the CFL’s primary income is ticket sales. The CFL also gets revenue from its television deal with TSN that was signed last year for $50 million ($37 million US).
The league has done a poor job marketing itself from the players, its long history, and failing to strike a chord with football fans worldwide. People see the league as a stepping stone to get to the NFL rather than an alternative league.
The CFL could’ve changed its business model a long time ago to put itself in a better position. Successful businesses are continually adapting to the times, and if something is not working or is out of date, they find solutions that work. On the other hand, the CFL has failed to help grow the league by marketing the players past and present, changing up the rules, and helping fans who are not familiar with the league understand how the game is played.
The CFL could have partnered with a video game company to make a CFL game. The first football video game came out in 1978 for Atari. It wasn’t until John Madden helped grow the league with the Madden franchise that we know today. He wanted fans to understand how football works from playbooks, rosters, weather, and much more. Thus, fans began to know which players were on which teams and understand how the game is played.
They are facing an uncertain future in 2021, and beyond, the CFL owners need to come to the table to discuss changing the league’s structure. They can’t merely rely on ticket sales as their primary revenue. Even if fans are allowed back to watch them play in person, how many will come back right away? They need to reevaluate how they can survive and grow to put themselves in a better financial position.
There are many financially wealthy sports leagues they can use as examples. They cannot continue a league using the same outdated model and expect to be financially fit. All they are doing is shooting themselves in the foot, and the league will soon just be a memory.
So, negotiate for a better television deal, get sponsors for footballs, uniforms, cleats, promote the players, and merchandise. Sell those keychains, jerseys, hats, and more. Have a website that is workable and that fans from all over the world can easily use; currently, it’s awful, hard to use, and only has a few things available. Promote, Promote, Promote, you can’t gain an audience if you don’t put yourself out there.
