SMS Penalties - Proposed

[boydo]

Currently this is what is sits at although it's going up for next season...

Maximum Salary Expenditure Cap (SEC) of $4.3M established for 2011.
Effective Enforcement Measures including:
•Full disclosure of player compensation to the league.
•Certification process.
•Hired compliance officers with full access to team records.
Salary Transparency with central repository of player salary information.
Significant non-discretionary Penalties for Exceeding SEC based on a progressive monetary and non-monetary (forfeited draft picks) penalties.
•Monetary Penalties:
•$1 for each dollar a Club exceeds SEC up to $100,000
•$2 for each dollar a Club exceeds SEC between $100,000 and $300,000
•$3 for each dollar a Club exceeds SEC over $300,000
•Non-Monetary Penalties:
•Forfeiture of next available first round draft pick for Clubs that exceed SEC over $100,000
•Forfeiture of next available first and second round draft picks for Clubs that exceed SEC over $300,000
Limit on Players Under Contract to 75 players in off-season, 68 players by training camp (current year draft choices exempt).
Active Roster Limit (ARL) of 42 players and a 4 man Reserve Roster.
Filing of Rosters timing changed from 48 hours notice to 1 hour prior to kickoff.
Practice Roster: Each club may have a practice roster consisting of a maximum of seven 7 players in accordance with the following terms and conditions:
•At least 1 place on the practice roster shall be filled by a non-import player (other than a non-import player who was a candidate in the current year CFL Canadian Draft, who is not the property of another CFL club);
•If 7 places are used by a member club on it’s practice roster, at least 1 place on the practice roster shall also be filled by a non-import player who was a candidate in the current year CFL Canadian Draft, who is not the property of another CFL club.;
•During 30 days during the season which coincide with the National Football League cut-down of roster period, each CFL club may increase it’s practice roster up to a maximum of twelve 12 players.

Now...if it was up to me...to elimininate any chance of a team trying to buy a Cup. Which I mean really, the fines in relation to the finanacial rewards a team would get for going over and getting to the game alone would be totally worth it. When you consider since its inception (including the trial run in 06) only 4 teams have gone over...granted 1 team has gone over 4 times...It's apparently NOT hard to stay under the cap. So why not make the penalties actual penalties? Make the teams scared of them?
Something like...oh I don't know...
3:1 for ever dollar over. None of this sliding scale crap.
How about NO draft picks for you!
Maybe for every dollar you're over that year...that dollar amount automatically smacks onto your total the next year so you're handicapped right from the start? So if you go over $26k, you start the next year at $26k in the hole. (ok that one might be a little harsh)

If the Esks go over...I'd expect to pay the penalties too man...it's the way it is. You want to make it a level playing field and have Tillman (horktooie) out of the League? This kind of system will help...nobody will want to take a chance with his Betty Crocker book cooking with penalties like these!

On another note...I find it interesting that the very first line (and this is taken right off the CFL.ca website) is a Maximum Salary Expenditure Cap. CAP! SALARY CAP!!! So many have been saying...whoa man...it's not a cap...it's a guideline...f*ck you...you're team's breaking the rules and you're justifying it by any means you can find. Dig up the past all you want. But the past is the past and if you want to be all rightous...you can't forget that you bought a Cup in 07 by going over the CAP!!!!!

[Opus]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

Amen...smack the tarnished halos right off their heads!

I like the idea of every dollar over one year counts against next years cap, and I would add a 1st rd pick right off the bat (no additional monetary fines). 100 K over? 1 st & 2nd rounder (add a pick for every 100K over = 200 K over means you lose 1,2,& 3 rd picks and so on).

[boydo]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

$1 over? NO picks at all...zero...zilch...nada... No possibility to trade for a pick either. You don't get to include future draft picks in trades in the upcoming season either.

Am I being harsh? Yeah...am I fed up with self righteous holier than thou d-bags telling me that we did it first in the Dynasty Years so it's ok? You bet. Doesn't change the fact that as it sits right now, the Cap and it's fines are a joke and any team that wants to spend the bucks to get the talent to get the Rings isn't afraid to - because the rewards far outweigh the punishments.

[glenvb]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

I'd make it so that if a team won the GC and then it was announced they went over the cap, the GC is withdrawn and given to the loser.

It'll never happen. Wish it would.

[BaronAmongYou]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

I'd make it so that if a team won the GC and then it was announced they went over the cap, the GC is withdrawn and given to the loser.

It'll never happen. Wish it would.

Yeah, until this is the punishment going over to win it all will always be worth it in the short term. And with long term thinking all but abolished in sports....

[glenvb]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

I guess it happens in other sports for drug violations. Seven Tour de France championships in a row are now vacant.

EDIT: In fact, looking at the winners, now only one American has ever won the Tour!

[Bastinado]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

Why not doing it like every other league that has a cap and just make it that you can't register a contract if you go over?

[tigerdar]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

Why not doing it like every other league that has a cap and just make it that you can't register a contract if you go over?

That would make it too much like a professional league instead of the clown shoe league we've come to enjoy...doot doo doot doo doo

[wildthing]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

I'd make it so that if a team won the GC and then it was announced they went over the cap, the GC is withdrawn and given to the loser.

It'll never happen. Wish it would.

If it was a hard cap I agree 100%. The current system allows for over expenditure if you are willing to pay the extra fines. I agree with bastinado that they shouldn't allow contracts to be registered once the cap is reached.

[budha]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

As it stands now there really is no penalty for some teams (the ones making big money). They pay the fine and go life moves on. There needs to be a system where the penalties to go up for every year that you go over. So if you are over by $50K this year, you pay the $50K in penalties. If you are over by $50K this next year, you pay $100K ($2 for everyone over) plus lose picks, the next year same amount $150K, plus your draft. This keep teams from going over very year.

[gizmo fan 2]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

I guess it happens in other sports for drug violations. Seven Tour de France championships in a row are now vacant.

EDIT: In fact, looking at the winners, now only one American has ever won the Tour!

I'd like to see something like this example from the National Rugby League.

Melbourne Storm broke the cap flagrantly for years on end. Their two championships (and three regular season titles) stripped from them, massive fine, ban of team officials, and a full season of competition without any points for winning - no playoffs, no anything.

To adjust that for this league. You go anywhere from $1 to 100k over, you get a fine and a cap penalty equal to the amount of the overspend for the following season.

Over 100k? You lose everything you gained that year (GC, div championship etc.,), 2x the fine, and you are barred from the playoffs the next season.

Harsh, yes, but no one's going over with those penalties.

[Bastinado]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

If you don't want teams to go over why let contracts to be signed if it would put them over the cap? I would say it works pretty well for the NFL and NHL.

[JoeyJoJoJr]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

I thought penalizing a team by reducing their salary cap by 50% of the previous years over spending was a decent way to put a curb on the infractions. That way going over affects more than a teams wallet an can serious hurt the next years product. Multiple years of it can really snowball and fork a team over.

[budha]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

Because the CFL has a more soft salary cap disallowing contracts is not really an option right now. Taking things away from teams right away is very harsh and doing it after the second time is a bit much. BY increasing penalties and having the last one as losing anything won, plus no playoffs the next year that will hit any team in the pocket book and player recruitment. These would be progressive steps, and not it you are say $600K over (unless you are already over that much).

By increasing the penalties and leaving them in place for a time you will have teams pay attention and not get that far.

For example a lets say a 5 or 6 step process.
1 fines as they are now
2 2x fines plus the loss of a certain number of picks (lets say odd number picks in the draft)
3 3x fines plus the entire draft, front office staff suspended for 1 month (GM, President, and any once else involved in the contract process)
4 4x fines, loss of draft, loss of home preseason game, front office staff suspended for 2 months.
5 5x times, loss of draft, loss of your next home playoff game (you do not host the next season, then the next time you are to host), and front office staff suspended for 9 games.
6 6x fines loss of draft, loss anything won that year, no playoffs next season, entire front office staff suspended for season.

I do like the idea of reducing that teams cap number by the fine amount, and the reduction is then donated to a local/CFL charity. For example Tackle Hunger.
In order to move down you have to be compliant for 2 seasons. so if you are on step 3 lets say, you have to be compliant for 4 years in order to start at the beginning of the fine structure.

[Bastinado]

Re: SMS Penalties - Proposed

Because the CFL has a more soft salary cap disallowing contracts is not really an option right now. Taking things away from teams right away is very harsh and doing it after the second time is a bit much. BY increasing penalties and having the last one as losing anything won, plus no playoffs the next year that will hit any team in the pocket book and player recruitment. These would be progressive steps, and not it you are say $600K over (unless you are already over that much).

By increasing the penalties and leaving them in place for a time you will have teams pay attention and not get that far.

For example a lets say a 5 or 6 step process.
1 fines as they are now
2 2x fines plus the loss of a certain number of picks (lets say odd number picks in the draft)
3 3x fines plus the entire draft, front office staff suspended for 1 month (GM, President, and any once else involved in the contract process)
4 4x fines, loss of draft, loss of home preseason game, front office staff suspended for 2 months.
5 5x times, loss of draft, loss of your next home playoff game (you do not host the next season, then the next time you are to host), and front office staff suspended for 9 games.
6 6x fines loss of draft, loss anything won that year, no playoffs next season, entire front office staff suspended for season.

I do like the idea of reducing that teams cap number by the fine amount, and the reduction is then donated to a local/CFL charity. For example Tackle Hunger.
In order to move down you have to be compliant for 2 seasons. so if you are on step 3 lets say, you have to be compliant for 4 years in order to start at the beginning of the fine structure.

Look at College Football in the states. They punish teams by not allowing them in bowl games, suspending officials etc and yet infractions still happen. Now look at the NFL and NHL how many infractions have they had?

And I don't get why it isn't an "option", whether you increase the penalties or create a hard cap you would have to get it agreed upon by the players.