New CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston has made one of his first significant moves.
After being criticized for decades for not making teams' negotiation lists public, the CFL is finally allowing fans to see which players are on the lists following an announcement Wednesday.
Each team maintains a negotiation list of up to 45 players who are currently playing in other leagues, in college or are unsigned. Teams hold exclusive negotiating rights with players on their lists, and these players can be added, traded or removed at any time.
In recent seasons, the league has required each team to make 10 names on the list public twice a year.
“We are focused on giving fans and media more opportunities to connect with our product in entertaining and meaningful ways,” Johnston, who started in his role in the spring, said in a statement. “By making the full negotiation lists public, fans now have visibility into who their favourite team’s next star could be, sparking discussion and debate, and providing insight into how CFL rosters are built.”
Notable past and present players originally on negotiation lists include Zach Collaros, Bo Levi Mitchell, Ricky Williams and Jeff Garcia.
Current notable names on the list include:
• NFL free agent receiver Chase Claypool (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
• 2021 third overall NFL Draft pick and QB Trey Lance (Saskatchewan Roughriders, currently with Los Angeles Chargers)
• Former Notre Dame QB Ian Book (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
• Philadelphia Eagles safety Sydney Brown (Toronto Argonauts)
• Cleveland Browns QB and former Colorado star Shedeur Sanders (Toronto Argonauts)
The full lists are available here.
