April 23, 2014

7 of 8 teams under the 2013 salary cap

CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO –- An extensive audit process has confirmed seven of eight teams were under the Canadian Football League’s salary cap, the CFL announced today.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were the only team to exceed the cap. Their total salary expenditure of $4,417,975 was $17,975 over the salary cap of $4,400,000. They will be penalized one dollar for each dollar they were over the cap for a total fine of $17,975.

“The salary cap system was brought into the CFL to provide competitive balance and business prudence,” said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon. “And the fact that seven of eight teams were under the cap continues to illustrate that our teams believe in this system, work within it, and understand that for the continued growth of our league, we have to remain fiscally responsible.”

The salary cap management system was introduced in 2007.

The system’s review process includes detailed field audits of all eight clubs twice per year, once during the CFL season and once following its completion. Teams are also required to provide regular updates on compensation levels at the 6-game, 12-game and 18-game point of the season.

Under the provisions set by the league’s Board of Governors, teams are fined one dollar for every dollar they exceed the cap up to $100,000, and two dollars for every dollar they exceed the cap between $100,000 and $300,000, plus the loss of the team’s first round draft pick. Teams are fined three dollars for every dollar they exceed the cap beyond $300,000, and they lose their first two draft selections.

As no team exceeded the cap by more than $100,000 in 2013, the order for the CFL Draft on May 13 is not affected. It remains (barring trade) for the first round:

1     Ottawa REDBLACKS
2     Winnipeg Blue Bombers
3     Edmonton Eskimos
4     Montreal Alouettes
5     BC Lions
6     Toronto Argonauts
7     Calgary Stampeders
8     Saskatchewan Roughriders via HAM
9     Hamilton Tiger-Cats via SSK