Music: {allcanada} New deal means no NFL tryouts for CFLers

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

{allcanada} New deal means no NFL tryouts for CFLers

The clause that allows Canadian Football League players in their option year to sign with National Football League teams is about to end, sources tell Sportnet.

The closing of the loophole, which was introduced in 1997 when the CFL and NFL joined together as a partnership, was revealed as part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the CFL and its Players Association, announced Tuesday morning.

The agreement will be phased out over the next two years, and fully gone after February 2012. Until then, only players with existing contracts whose options years are in 2011 and 2012 will be eligible. The deal, slated to run for four years, has been ratified by the players.

Beginning with its partnership with the NFL, which provided the CFL with a $4 million loan in 1997, CFL option-year players had a two-month window after the season to try out with NFL teams and secure a contract.

The NFL took advantage of the chance to sign players, although the majority of them didn't stick and were forced to return to their CFL team to fulfill their contracts.

The CFL paid back the loan to the NFL a few years ago, but the two sides haven't been able to reach a deal on a new agreement.

On Tuesday the league announced it will begin testing players for performance-enhancing drugs in 2011.

The deal also includes increased salaries and a revamped business model.

"The league has come under criticism in the past for not having a drug testing policy. Under the new deal, testing for performance-enhancing substances will begin next year with 25 per cent of all players to be tested," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in release. "Thirty five per cent will be tested in 2012 and 2013.

Both urine and blood tests will be conducted by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

A first offence will lead to mandatory testing and counselling while a second offence triggers a three-game suspension. A player who is caught for a third time will be handed a one-year suspension while a fourth infraction equals a lifetime ban from the league.

Salaries will increase under the new deal with the minimum wage growing to $45,000 in 2013 from $41,000 in 2009.

The 2010 season kicks off Thursday.