Will There be a CFL Season in 2020?

By: Adamo Marinelli

June 6th, 2020

     On May 20th, the CFL issued a statement that read: “We have learned three things about running a league in a pandemic. Certainty is hard to come by. Scenarios are plentiful. And public safety is paramount. So, while we keep our focus on safety, we want to keep our fans informed as the number of possible scenarios narrows and decisions are made.”

     In late April and early May, when the CFL was asking the Canadian government for $150 million to help cope with the shutdown, in other words, to pay salaries and pay for equipment needed to run the league, reports were circulating that there was going to be no CFL season in 2020. On May 7th, CFL commissioner Randy Ambroisie even admitted that the most likely scenario for the CFL is a canceled 2020 season.

     He added that the league’s future is very much in jeopardy, as all CFL teams collectively lost about $20 million last year.

     However, reports circulated in late May that the CFL’s plan to return to play will happen in September 2020 at the earliest for a short, but meaningful season.

     Of course, a final decision on whether a return to play will happen in September will depend on if the plan to return to play abides the government’s quarantine safety regulations and if the government deems it safe for all players, coaches, referees, fans and arena staff. 

     Barring some huge development, like a vaccine for COVID-19, it seems clear that there will be no games being played this summer (during the months of June, July, and August). There are several reasons including the continuing restriction on large gatherings of people, several restrictions on travel, and also on border crossings, between countries and provinces. Players will have to travel between provinces to play games and some players who live in the United States will have to come to Canada to play the season.

     It is likely that the CFL will play their shortened season without fans in the stands to honour social distancing rules but the CFL is examining all possibilities with both public safety and financial viability in mind. Maybe, the CFL will fill half the stadium, with everyone spaced out accordingly, because they have been, and still are in, some financial trouble. It is too early to speculate how a season starting in September will look, however.

     The CFL explicitly stated in a report on May 20th, that they are not promising a shortened season starting this September. It is just one of the possibilities. Another possibility is that the season gets completely canceled.

     The Coronavirus pandemic has had a drastic effect on all our lives, including preventing travel, tourism, and negatively affecting the economy. It is becoming very clear now that the CFL is unable to host a traditional Grey Cup based on a whole season’s standings and a traditional Grey Cup festival.

     With that in mind, and in agreement with the Saskatchewan Roughriders - who were supposed to host the 2020 Grey Cup - the Roughriders will host the Grey Cup in 2022 and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will get to host the game for the first time in 25 years in 2021 as initially planned. 

     In terms of this year, if the league does end up returning for a short, but meaningful season in September, the host of the 2020 Grey Cup will be determined by a “win-and-host” model. Teams will play a shortened regular season, and based on seeding will qualify for the playoffs. The East division and West division winners will get a bye to the semi-finals and the next four teams with the best records - regardless of whatever division they are in - will play in the conference semifinals. This is the new playoff format that the CFL proposed, it could be implemented as early as this year, which is why I am using it as the CFL’s playoff format instead of the old crossover method. The old method typically gives East teams with a worse record an advantage over higher-seeded Western teams by making the West team play on the road in a crossover game. 

     Once both teams qualify for the Grey Cup, their regular-season records will be compared. Whichever of the two teams that qualified for the Grey Cup has a better record, that team will host the 2020 Grey Cup. This gives all nine CFL franchises the chance to host the Grey Cup game this year, which provides an incentive to perform well in the regular season. It is likely that the Grey Cup game will happen in mid-late December in this unprecedented year, as the CFL explores every option to maximize the games played in the 2020 CFL season.

Obviously, like all other sports leagues, the CFL will have to run training camps to get every athlete in shape. Whether that happens in late August and the season starts in early September or whether training camps start in early September and the season immediately follows the conclusion of the training camps, the CFL will need to provide its players and coaches with lots of testing before training camps start, during training camps and before the season officially starts because safety to everyone involved in making a CFL game operate smoothly is paramount.

     I hope the CFL does end up coming back to play its 2020 season, even if it is a short season that starts in September without fans. The CFL is an awesome game and provides a different feel to the game of football than its American counterpart. It’s very exciting and entertaining.