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What kind of nonsense is this?

The Canadian Football League’s collective bargaining agreement contains provisions that virtually assure that some of the best Canadian players on the planet will never set foot in the CFL.

And unless something changes, it’s going to block the Toronto Argonauts’ efforts to land receiver T.J. Jones, a Canadian-born player who starred for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before playing 45 National Football League games with the New York Giants and Detroit Lions from 2015 to 2019.

This is all because the CBA – signed last spring by the CFL and the Canadian Football League Players’ Association – restricts rookie Canadian players to three-year contracts for at, or slightly above, the league minimum $65,000 (Cdn.) per season.

Jones accepted an offer of $200,000 per season from the Argos earlier this month, despite receiving multiple offers from NFL teams. All of that, however, is on hold. And unless the CFLPA approves changes to the language of the CBA – which have been approved by the league – he’s never going to play in the CFL.

“After speaking with the CFL and CFLPA leadership, it’s clear to me that rookie minimums were never meant to apply to Canadian players coming back from the NFL,” said Jones’ agent Rob Fry. “It is in all parties’ interests that Canadian players coming back from the NFL – who are not professional rookies – have the ability to garner their market value in the CFL. Otherwise, the reality is there won’t be any Canadian players with NFL experience in the CFL."

https://www.tsn.ca/provisions-in-cfl...home-1.1448885