Update: Travis Lulay extension now official

[WestCoastJoe]

There is no option year rule anymore so Lulay would be bound to his Lions contract for the next two years. I doubt that there would be much interest in a 30 year-old QB from the NFL anyway although Dieter Brock and Doug Flutie would be exceptions to that rule.

2 years.

30 year old, Lulay, trying out in the NFL? The NFL personnel guys are not usually smart enough to give such a guy a chance. They would rather draft Ryan Leaf or Dan McGuire or the like. Strong arms, big, no intangibles.

[TheLionKing]

And speaking of Ryan Leaf, he got arrested again

[Lions4ever]

And speaking of Ryan Leaf, he got arrested again

Not to threadjack, but I can't help but feel a little bit bad for a guy with his talent and opportunities to continue to make such disastrous life choices. The guy's clearly got some very bad addiction issues. Shame.

[Shi Zi Mi]

Beggars/choosers, but I believe I read briefly that it's a rewrite of the current deal to a 1+1. Would have hoped/would hope for something longer term.

It has been suggested that the Lions' spending on FA's and resigning Bruce, Simon, et al has put a crimp in salary cap room......thus Lulay's agent would rather not commit long term per chance there will be more money available after this coming season......IMHO, we'll be talking about this again next off-season.....hopefully with a new long term deal early in the off season.

[MexicoLionFan]

James, that is a great suggestion about Lulay announcing the signing from the stands at a playoff game...the Lions need to take full advantage of this signing...it is a huge one IMO as it puts the Lions in a great position to 3-peat...

[TheLionKing]

Unless the Lions want to wait til after the hockey playoffs are over, next week would be an opportune time as the Canucks have 3 days off between games.

[TheFanWithTheFlag]

The BC Lions Football Club is pleased to announce that CFL Most Outstanding Player and 2011 Grey Cup MVP Travis Lulay has signed a contract extension with the team. Terms of the deal were not released.

“Travis is not only our inspirational leader on the field, he is also an extremely valuable member of our organization off the field,” said VP of football operations and GM Wally Buono.

Lulay comes off a remarkable third season with the Lions, his first full campaign as the team’s starting quarterback. The Oregon native was originally signed as a free agent in 2009.

With the club stumbling out of the gate to a 1-6 start last year, Lulay elevated his play in spectacular fashion over the final 11 regular season games with a remarkable 109.2 passer rating. Throwing for 300+ yards on six occasions in 2011 and enjoying 10 games with two or more TD passes, Lulay led the Lions to an 11-7 record, a first place finish in the West Division and the club’s sixth Grey Cup championship last November.

“Quite simply, Travis at the helm of our offense makes us one the best teams in the league,” said head coach Mike Benevides. “He’s an outstanding player, a proven leader and community-minded individual whose enthusiasm for everything we’re trying to do as an organization is unmatched.”

Lulay finished the 2011 campaign as the league’s second-leading passer with 4,815 yards on 342 completions and tied for the CFL lead with 32 TD passes. Ranked number two among quarterbacks in rushing yards, he scampered for 391 yards on 47 attempts including 14 gains of 10 or more yards. In addition to a 53-yard dash versus Toronto on September 10th, the shifty pivot electrified a home crowd of more than 40,000 with 61-yard touchdown rumble in the Western Final versus Edmonton.

“From my first days with the Lions I have felt both proud and blessed to have an opportunity to play the game I love in this amazing place I now call home,” said Lulay. “Winning a championship in front of a home crowd at BC Place was an amazing experience and I believe we have the makings of another very talented club in 2012. I am very grateful to our fans for their patience during this process and they can rest assured my focus is on bringing home another Grey Cup.”

[SammyGreene]

How about the eve of the Stanley Cup playoffs:

The BC Lions Football Club is pleased to announce that CFL Most Outstanding Player and 2011 Grey Cup MVP Travis Lulay has signed a contract extension with the team. Terms of the deal were not released.

“Travis is not only our inspirational leader on the field, he is also an extremely valuable member of our organization off the field,” said VP of football operations and GM Wally Buono.

Lulay comes off a remarkable third season with the Lions, his first full campaign as the team’s starting quarterback. The Oregon native was originally signed as a free agent in 2009.

With the club stumbling out of the gate to a 1-6 start last year, Lulay elevated his play in spectacular fashion over the final 11 regular season games with a remarkable 109.2 passer rating. Throwing for 300+ yards on six occasions in 2011 and enjoying 10 games with two or more TD passes, Lulay led the Lions to an 11-7 record, a first place finish in the West Division and the club’s sixth Grey Cup championship last November.

“Quite simply, Travis at the helm of our offense makes us one the best teams in the league,” said head coach Mike Benevides. “He’s an outstanding player, a proven leader and community-minded individual whose enthusiasm for everything we’re trying to do as an organization is unmatched.”

Lulay finished the 2011 campaign as the league’s second-leading passer with 4,815 yards on 342 completions and tied for the CFL lead with 32 TD passes. Ranked number two among quarterbacks in rushing yards, he scampered for 391 yards on 47 attempts including 14 gains of 10 or more yards. In addition to a 53-yard dash versus Toronto on September 10th, the shifty pivot electrified a home crowd of more than 40,000 with 61-yard touchdown rumble in the Western Final versus Edmonton.

“From my first days with the Lions I have felt both proud and blessed to have an opportunity to play the game I love in this amazing place I now call home,” said Lulay. “Winning a championship in front of a home crowd at BC Place was an amazing experience and I believe we have the makings of another very talented club in 2012. I am very grateful to our fans for their patience during this process and they can rest assured my focus is on bringing home another Grey Cup.”

[WestCoastJoe]

“From my first days with the Lions I have felt both proud and blessed to have an opportunity to play the game I love in this amazing place I now call home,” said Lulay. “Winning a championship in front of a home crowd at BC Place was an amazing experience and I believe we have the makings of another very talented club in 2012. I am very grateful to our fans for their patience during this process and they can rest assured my focus is on bringing home another Grey Cup.”

A truly great leader, player and person. Proud to have him call B.C. home.

[joe kapp22]

GM Wally has done a great job this offseason, glad to have T Lulay back for a while as he a class act .

[sj-roc]

Great news for the Lions.

As I posted above, I hope they manage to get Lulay in either the stands or a corporate box during one of the Canucks playoff games, have him wave to the crowd, and maybe do an on-air interview with someone at the CBC. Note to Travis: the last city to win both a Grey Cup and a Stanley Cup in the same year was the 1987 Edmonton Eskimos/Oilers. That Grey Cup was won at BC Place.

I was just about to point out that the current scenario isn't really the same as that one, although the Eskimos sandwiched that 1987 championship between two Oiler Cups from the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons so that gives you a fallback argument.

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Lion ... story.html

“Hypothetically, I’d like to be here for the next 10 years,” Lulay said. “I’m not going to come out and say that. But I would consider myself an extremely fortunate person if that were going to happen. My wife feels pretty good about it. Vancouver’s a good spot for us. We feel pretty fortunate to land here.”

“Travis felt strongly that he wanted to avoid any possible uncertainty that might be created by playing out his option year, and we are very happy that goal has been achieved,” said Lulay’s agent, Dan Vertlieb. "A shorter-term deal [one year, plus option] seemed to BE the best fit FOR all parties at this time, and Travis is very excited to turn his sole focus to trying to help the Lions win consecutive Grey Cups for the first time in franchise history.”

“I can’t tell you for sure, but I do think that makes a difference with me,” Lulay admitted. “I know, with a lot of guys who have never even tasted it [NFL], I might say, ‘I’m in. Let’s go.’ In which case, I wouldn’t be doing this. I’d be playing out my option [in 2012] and giving it a try. But I can tell you, that’s not on my mind. I couldn’t say I haven’t thought about it. But it’s so far down on my priority list. It was never a goal of mine to come here, win a Grey Cup, then leave and test those waters.”

“We talked to a lot of scenarios but, for us, this was the best conclusion,” he added. “I’m not sure who’s the highest paid player . . . Ricky Ray [Toronto], probably. Who’s next? Anthony [Calvillo], if you go by the salary by what the league puts out. Travis is, in my mind, paid very fairly. We just look at what works for us, and we do that.”

“Does a player feel he has to have two or three good years in a row and grow more . . . I can’t answer that,” he said. “That wasn’t part of my discussions with him. Honestly, I don’t really care. If they have an interest there [NFL], that’s fine. If they don’t, that’s fine, too. My biggest concern was having Travis sign a 2012 contract.”

“If I were in a situation where [NFL] people started enquiring, I’d listen, but I wouldn’t be eager to jump at the opportunity,” Lulay reiterated. “I wouldn’t be doing this if my intent was to leave or my hope was to leave.”

Saying the right things. More importantly, doing the right things.

[Robbie]

The BC Lions Football Club is pleased to announce that CFL Most Outstanding Player and 2011 Grey Cup MVP Travis Lulay has signed a contract extension with the team. Terms of the deal were not released.

So just like Geroy Simon, this is the makings of a long-term MOP Lion unlike the other four MOP's who departed after no more than two years later. Unlike Flutie after the 1991 season who was highly courted by new Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman, it looks like no other CFL or even NFL team has been trying to grab Lulay away (yet).

Last year the Lions ran a print ad with Wally, Lui, and Lulay (if I recall correctly) wearing hockey jerseys and posing with sticks, wishing the Canucks good luck. They should do it again. They should also run ads during HNIC, with a storyline along the lines of, 'we already have one cup....', 'it has been 25 years since the cups were won by the same city', 'there's nothing like winning it all at home', etc.

It would be nice for the Lions to return the nice favour, especially since the Canucks were kind enough to invite the Lions for a pre-game ceremony shortly after the 2011 GC win.

Note to Travis: the last city to win both a Grey Cup and a Stanley Cup in the same year was the 1987 Edmonton Eskimos/Oilers.

Because of that, Edmonton boasted themselves as City of Champions.

If you consider pro football (i.e. NFL and the Super Bowl) and hockey as well, then the last time a city won both a professional football and hockey championship in the same year wasn't too long ago in 2009 for the city of Pittsburgh when both the Steelers and Penguins won.