Ambrosie to step down once successor is found.

[Hambone]

DC mentioned it in his recent post but it's a topic that deserves its own thread.

Some have talked like he's stepping down right after the Grey Cup which is isn't totally true. He has announced he will be retiring but that won't take effect until a new Commissioner is appointed. That could be anywhere from Grey Cup to close to 2025 training camps open.

[B.C.FAN]

I’ve always liked Ambrosie, and I’ll be sorry to see him go. It’s a thankless job, but he brought a fresh vision and stability to the league, opened new revenue streams and oversaw the signing of a seven-year contract with the CFLPA. It’s a good time to be a CFL fan.

[don corleone]

For me I wanted to like Ambrosie but in the end was unable to do so. Not to say he was not effective in the role he was hired to do which is probably a lot more behind the scenes than the transparency demanded by fans.

#1 issue might be the work put in to reduce the ratio when more top Canadian players are emerging every year. We had entire off seasons filled with that discussion when they could have been trumpeting the positive aspects of the game. The Global program has done nothing. We were going to switch to 4 downs not too long ago. It was never for the benefit of the fans imo.

An SMS that is not. Brutal officiating at times. Zero improvement or concessions gained to do with the broadcast agreement. Not much on expansion other than staging novelty exhibition games. Even last off season dominated by Chad Kelly and Shawn Lemon killed any positive momentum. Both suspensions were way out of line imo.

Another big thing for me is a lack of respect for player contracts when their own are carved in stone. Show respect and gain respect.

Other than that he appears to be a great guy but I'm hopeful we can do better. A wild guess is Wade Miller would like the job.

[Hambone]

I’ve always liked Ambrosie, and I’ll be sorry to see him go. It’s a thankless job, but he brought a fresh vision and stability to the league, opened new revenue streams and oversaw the signing of a seven-year contract with the CFLPA. It’s a good time to be a CFL fan.

My thoughts are similar.

One can whine about how he handled Covid but what pro sports executive had any sort of past experience to deal with anything like that? None. There was no playbook to rely on to deal with a once in a century global pandemic. How many were running leagues with the dependence on gate receipts like the CFL? None. The NHL and NBA already had most of their TV money in the bank. NFL was still 4 months away from training camp giving them breathing room to figure things out. MLB had hoops to jump through but were backed by mega million $ TV deals. Save for 7 NHL teams, 3 MLS teams and 1 each in the NBA and MLB none had to work with Canada's "better safe than sorry" attitude towards crowds under Covid, restrictions for which were in a constant state of flux. Even if the CFL tried to come up with a plan to continue they had to deal with about as many different sets of Covid restrictions as there were provinces with no guarantee those restrictions in effect one day wouldn't change the next. IMO that the CFL was still standing coming out of Covid was a significant accomplishment. It could easily have succumbed to the virus.

Other than that Ambrosie has displayed a willingness to think outside the box when it comes to generating new revenue streams. CFL Commissioners have long been criticized for not thinking outside the box. Sure the dream of a 10th team still exists but dreaming about it and getting it done are two very different things. Jake Gaudaur was Commish when the Atlantic Schooners were first granted a conditional franchise back in 1982. Ambrosie is the 10th Commissioner since Gaudaur retired in 1984. Nobody can accuse him for lack of effort in trying to fulfill the dream of that elusive 10th team that fans across Canada covet. It's an excercise not unlike the old adage you can lead a horse to water but can't make him drink. Ambrosie tried his damndest to get the horses to water but until they prove willing to drink voraciously it isn't going to happen.

What I can offer is that whoever takes over will be inheriting a league in a much better place than when Ambrosie came onto the scene. There are no ownership fires to put out or anything smoldering under the surface ready to flare up. Has there ever been a more solid group of owners than the 9 the new Commissioner will get to start out with?

They are just at the start of a 7 year CBA that runs out in 2030. They now have revenue sharing between the league and CFLPA, as well as between the teams, and other revenue streams other than the traditional gate/TV/sponsorship deals. Many hate the FOPs cap but fact is it along with the SMS, which was conceived late in Tom Wright's tenure, provide all 9 teams with cost certainty and a level playing field in their overall football operations part of the business. No longer does the team with the deepest pockets set the spending bar for the rest to try to match regardless of being able to afford it.

A new Commish comes in with a fairly clean slate to work with moving forward. Most important issue will be the next TV deal. Staying around to deal with that could have put some icing on his legacy cake. However it may be better to let the new Commish deal with that on his terms as opposed to having to inherit and live with what should be another long term deal.

[Toppy Vann]

In the Dave Naylor questioning of Randy Ambrosie, he asked something along the lines of if some vote of the board led to this decision. Ambrosie said no but the question and answer makes one wonder if the board had shown less than full confidence in him.

Don Corleonne notes some concerns like the handling of Kelly and Shawn Lemon suspensions by the league. I felt the CFL didn't handle the Kelly situation well but Toronto failing fully on its obligations left the CFL with a S%%T Sandwich with all the trimmings. Argos just letting it languish when the writ came was massive error no. 1. Also, if this stuff happened in sight of other players or coaches WTF was going on there. I always wondered why so many Argos left after last season and if some of this might have been part of their decisions. A question that need not have been thought of if they worked to resolve this at source.
Also his involvement with discipline is wrong as he blows in the wind. That function should be separate from him. Lemon had a continuing contribution to make this year with the Als and he and Derek Sankey were two critical leadership pieces that turned that DEF around and gave confidence to the entire team. Not alone mind you but Lemon having no way back at this stage of his life was wrong after all he gave to the CFL. It's a mini-Pete Rose situation and few can understand why Rose wasn't let back before he died.

In all this Kelly stuff neither the female who launched the suit or Chad Kelly got due process with an outcome favourable to both parties that a proper system internally and zero tolerance policies could do to prevent this stuff and rectify wrong doings before people have to lose jobs etc.

To me if Ambrosie has a vision for the CFL, it sure didn't include lifting all the player contracts up nor was it clear how they were going to grow the pie.
There are two sides to sports these days - winning teams and winning support organizations that build fan bases and the finances.

The CFL should do way more to help players both short and long term given that few will make retirement money in the CFL.

[David]

I respect fellow Lionbackers' opinions of course, but for me, good riddance.

I have never been an Ambrosie guy. I've consistently found him to be big on small talk ("with these key learnings, we can co-create innovative win-wins in our ecosystem" or some such marketingese gibberish) and small on big talk (like a pathway to adding a 10th team, for starters. Also, some type of innovative ad or marketing campaign to raise league profile with casual fans).


DH

[B.C.FAN]

One of the biggest feathers in Ambrosie’s cap is the league’s new agreement to broadcast games on CTV for the first time in almost 40 years. The big payoff should come in the playoffs and Grey Cup, when the league’s biggest spectacle will be able to reach a much bigger audience than through TSN. I hope viewership numbers increase and new fans are introduced to the game.

[Hambone]

One of the biggest feathers in Ambrosie’s cap is the league’s new agreement to broadcast games on CTV for the first time in almost 40 years. The big payoff should come in the playoffs and Grey Cup, when the league’s biggest spectacle will be able to reach a much bigger audience than through TSN. I hope viewership numbers increase and new fans are introduced to the game.

The upcoming split of the numbers will be interesting to see as unlike the regular season when CTV telecasts were exclusive to them the playoffs and Grey Cup will be on all three of CTV, TSN and RDS. I'm still somewhat skeptical as to how many in Canada who are at least moderately interested in sports, regardless of sport, don't find a means to include TSN in their TV package. In other words how many would have access only to CTV either thru their cable package or because they rely on peasant vision?

On a side note it was funny watching one of the managers at the Shark Club trying to find the OTT/TOR game earlier the afternoon before the BCL/MTL game. He kept scrolling back and forth through all the TSN channels. He didn't know the game was on CTV until somebody tipped him off to check there. I'm somewhat similar in that I almost never look to CTV for any type of programming much less sports programming. Only time I think about viewing CTV is during NFL season just in case they're showing a game that NBC, CBS, FOX or TSN isn't showing. It's not often that they air a game I can't pick up on one of the other networks that is also a game I'd rather watch.

[cromartie]

I respect fellow Lionbackers' opinions of course, but for me, good riddance.

I have never been big Ambrosie guy. I've consistently found him to be big on small talk ("with these key learnings, we can co-create innovative win-wins in our ecosystem" or some such marketingese gibberish) and small on big talk (like a pathway to adding a 10th team, for starters. Also, some type of innovative ad or marketing campaign to raise league profile with casual fans).


DH

He doesn't do much for me either. The over emphasis on the global program felt a lot like rearranging place settings while the boat was leaking down below.

I won't miss him, and I second your characterization.

[Hambone]

I have zero issues with the discipline for both Kelly and Lemon.

Re: Kelly. That was a very contentious issue in these times. On one hand I think he was mostly guilty of being a total jackass and dick but that's not enough to cause the CFL to look the other way. In some ways it harkens me to the now long standing Lions cause "Don't Be a Bystander". It seems the Argos and presumably players and staff chose to be bystanders in hopes it would simply go away. The CFL did do their due diligence thru independent investigation and chose to still mete out discipiline.

Re: Lemon. The CFL is trying to leverage the gambling industry for additional revenue. I'm not going to suggest Lemon was doing anything to impact games or even that he might be betting on his own games. However if the CFL is going to reach out with one hand and accept revenues from gambling that hand and the other hand holding their wallet had better be squeaky clean. It's imperative that at the first sign of a player being involved they step in and make an example of any player who steps over the line. Looking the other way is not acceptable. This era is much different than the good old days when most betting was based simply on which team one or lost, point spreads and maybe over/under. Todays props bets open up all kinds of different ways for players to be lured in to doing things that can help nefarious gambling activities. I didn't read it but listened to Bob McCown interview Declan Hill, author of The Fix - Soccer and Organized Crime. The discussion was fascinating. Hill talked about how it was lower leagues of soccer that were more susceptible to illegal activities in part due to the modest money players who would never advance to more lucrative levels and in part because there would be less scrutiny on those lower leagues for hanky panky.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books ... 0771041396

For those who think the CFL was being heavy handed consider the following:

NHL suspended Sens player Shane Pinto for 41 games last year for gambling.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/nhl ... rcna122452

NBA banned Raptor Jontay Porter for life for gambling on games he didn't play in and for pulling himself from at least one game so a bettor could cash in on a $1M bet that he'd under-perform.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nb ... -1.7229079

NFL has suspended several players in the past 3 years including current Lion Stanley Berryhill. Most have been reinstated. I think Isaiah Rogers remains suspended.
https://apnews.com/article/nfl-gambling ... 5e7b949418

MLB banned Padres IF Tucupita Marcena for life earlier this season while also handing out 1 year suspensions to A's pitcher Michael Kelly and 3 minor leaguers.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb- ... -punished/

It would seem that the discipline handed out to Lemon is keeping in line with what all leagues are doing.

[Hambone]

I respect fellow Lionbackers' opinions of course, but for me, good riddance.

I have never been big Ambrosie guy. I've consistently found him to be big on small talk ("with these key learnings, we can co-create innovative win-wins in our ecosystem" or some such marketingese gibberish) and small on big talk (like a pathway to adding a 10th team, for starters. Also, some type of innovative ad or marketing campaign to raise league profile with casual fans).


DH

He doesn't do much for me either. The over emphasis on the global program felt a lot like rearranging place settings while the boat was leaking down below.

I won't miss him, and I second your characterization.

On the marketing aspect I do wonder if that's where the concept of paying players significant marketing money plays into things. The detractors think of it purely as a means of paying bigger name players more money that doesn't fall under the SMS. In the past there has been some allowances written into the CBA but the allowable moneys were almost petty to the point the teams were relying on players to help out on a voluntary basis. The teams literally own the players likeness and name. For the stars whose replica jerseys dominate sales they got no piece of the action, I'm more optimistic in that I'm wondering if we won't see the likes of Rourke far more involved and prominent in offseason marketing than we've ever seen before. In some ways it's like the NIL money now being handed out in the NCAA except that CFL players were at least being compensated for playing although not for contributing to marketing. Time will tell but if we don't see Rourke's face everywhere at a level we're never seen before in the marketing campaigns for 2025 I will be disappointed.

[Toppy Vann]

I find it argue with the comments of Ambrosie's detractors as to misplaced priorities.


Questions that kind of surface for me are:

1. What was the vote of the CFL governors that Naylor asked if that impacted his departure?
2. Is the silence on the stop coaching contracts until post GC due to they're waiting a week or is he now a lame duck.




On the Lemon suspension, Ambrosie has denied this guy who gave his career - heart and soul - to the CFL.
It was brought up by TSN (several) to Ambrosie on two occasions pre-TD Pacific and he arrogantly put the questions down despite the validity of the question about giving Lemon a suspension with an end to it so he can be considered at least for the football hall of fame. It was the arrogance of how Ambrosie brushed that off never to come back to it that annoys me.

A quick AI check shows the average contracts and look where the CFL is:

NBA (National Basketball Association)
Average Contract: Approximately $10 million to $11 million per year.


NHL (National Hockey League)
Average Contract: Around $3 million to $4 million per year.


MLB (Major League Baseball)
Average Contract: Roughly $4 million to $5 million per year.


CFL (Canadian Football League)
Average Contract: Approximately $80,000 to $100,000 per year.
Notes: The CFL has a lower salary scale compared to the other leagues, reflecting its smaller market and revenue base.


Most today feel Pete Rose should have had an end to his suspension and basically banishment from baseball for what were veryegregious gambling actions.

[tedbear]

One of the biggest feathers in Ambrosie’s cap is the league’s new agreement to broadcast games on CTV for the first time in almost 40 years. The big payoff should come in the playoffs and Grey Cup, when the league’s biggest spectacle will be able to reach a much bigger audience than through TSN. I hope viewership numbers increase and new fans are introduced to the game.

With all due respect they could put the games on ABC, NBC, and FOX and I don't believe the numbers would increase unless they changed the on game product put out by TSN. The worst football production ever.

[Hambone]

Just looking at the numbers. CTV aired 7 games this year in the noon Pacific 3pm Eastern slot for an average of 386814. Last year TSN aired 9 games in the 1pm Pacific 4pm Eastern slot for an average of 422400. In the case of Montreal games these numbers do not include RDS viewership. They are strictly CTV and TSN.

Comparisons should never be made between the US networks producing NFL games and TSN producing CFL games. Would NFL broadcasts look like they do if they were dealing with the advertising revenue generated from a market of 38M versus one of 340M? TSN could pump a lot more money into broadcast quality if they were pulling in revenues in the billions like US networks receive.

[don corleone]

Just looking at the numbers. CTV aired 7 games this year in the noon Pacific 3pm Eastern slot for an average of 386814. Last year TSN aired 9 games in the 1pm Pacific 4pm Eastern slot for an average of 422400. In the case of Montreal games these numbers do not include RDS viewership. They are strictly CTV and TSN.

Comparisons should never be made between the US networks producing NFL games and TSN producing CFL games. Would NFL broadcasts look like they do if they were dealing with the advertising revenue generated from a market of 38M versus one of 340M? TSN could pump a lot more money into broadcast quality if they were pulling in revenues in the billions like US networks receive.

On that note I thought TSN did a lot better with their commercials this year as far as variety. It was nice to see Ford buying time and pushing their electric vehicles as well which may say something about that. The big advertisers on U.K. sports are the betting houses and everything is tied to that. I haven't seen that here yet.