Quote Originally Posted by jerrym View Post
The Commissioner's statement that a team "faces a heavy fine" because it "announced they had released a player halfway through his first CFL contract so he can pursue NFL opportunities. This refers obviously to Micah Awe, who was released by the Lions. Good to see the league upholding its rules.
However, is Awe still able to go to the NFL?
Can other teams make side deals in the future and claim they are releasing a player because they were not happy with his play, or they are going add more veteran players in order to go all out for a championships, or the player doesn't fit the direction they want to take the offence or defence or a new coach/GM wants to clear out parts of the previous management/coach's player personnel?
In other words how well can the league enforce this rule if teams do not state they are releasing a player to pursue NFL opportunities as happened with Awe?
I don't see how the league can levy a fine. Players in their entry level contracts get cut all the time. I see a loophole there whereas a team can always publicly say that they have decided to go in a different direction and "X" player isn't a fit in that direction. I think the league just needs to drop the MANDATORY 2 years on entry level contracts. Maybe even just tweek it where a player can leave after 1 year, but the team that had him under contract continues to hold his playing rights.