CFL commissioner Mark Cohon has received a new proposal from the players.

BY PERRY LEFKO
sportsnet.ca

Talks between the Canadian Football League and the CFL Players Association are scheduled to begin Monday, all designed to break the impasse between the two sides as the current labour agreement draws closer to its expiry on June 6.

A key element will be the equation of the league revenues, which currently calls for the players to receive 56 percent. Sportsnet.ca has learned that the players have forwarded a new proposal to the owners.

So far, the two sides have refused to discuss the issues publicly, although there is growing unrest among the players.

"It looks like the league will lock us out if a deal isn't reached by training camp," a source with the players said. "In the past we have continued with the existing deals. This year won't be the same because they have taken the approach they won't move forward without a new agreement."

The owners want to drastically alter the revenue splits because some teams, notably Toronto and Hamilton, continue to lose millions on operating costs each year with no sign of relief. The situation is so acute that the team's previous owners, David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski, bailed out after six years because the league wouldn't engage in a proposed plan for revenue sharing.

This prompted B.C. Lions' owner David Braley, who was a silent partner in the Argos ownership, to take full control of the team. Braley's ownership of two teams in an eight-team league has created talks of a conflict of interest, although the league has gone to great lengths to assure that will not be the case and will carefully analyze all deals.

The CFL's financial picture is scheduled to undergo a significant change when the current TV contract expires after one more season. A potential bidding war for rights could increase revenues and the league wants a bigger slice of that pie.

CFLPA president Stu Laird has already issued a memo to the players notifying them of the potential for a lockout in training camp, set to begin the day after the CBA deal ends. Many teams take the opportunity to begin a rookie camp a couple days in advance of the full training camp with the veterans, but those plans could be in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, the league's annual draft is scheduled to happen on Sunday.