In a recent report by Dan Ralph of The Canadian Press, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie says he hasn’t shut the door on resuming the talks with the XFL. Talks between the 2 leagues broke down mutually in July, just before training camp was to begin, but Ambrosie had this to say in a recent press conference:
“We both decided and agreed that we would go back to our respective businesses and focus on our own leagues, for now. We haven’t set any plans to reconnect. But because the relationship was positive, the door was left open for the possibility that we talk again down the road. But today and for the foreseeable future, it’s all CFL all the time.”
Randy Ambrosie
Both leagues suspended play in 2020 due to the pandemic, while the XFL stopped 5 games into the inaugural season, ending with owner Vince McMcMahon filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, and selling the league to Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, and RedBird Capital.
The commissioner didn’t go into detail as to what the talks did produce, however:
“It would be disingenuous to suggest that we didn’t talk about everything. Now, we’ve got our game, our league and our own future to navigate and I think that’s going to mean having conversations about how do we take our league to the next level?
“How do we grow the game? How do we double, then double again and double again our success? We’ll have an opportunity for consultation with our stakeholders, our fans, with amateur football, with university football because we don’t need to grow the CFL, we need to grow football in Canada. We need to make our game stronger.”
Randy Ambrosie
He did go on to say that not considering outside of the box methods to build on the CFL’s foundation would be akin to insanity:
“They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We’ll be encouraging everyone to get out to look at where are the possibilities to grow and expand our game because what we really owe to the game is long-term success.
“I’d continue to encourage our board … certainly myself and my team that we keep our eyes open, we keep our ears open and we keep our minds open to new possibilities and that’s across the board.”
Randy Ambrosie
The XFL’s plans for the 2023 season are ongoing, and if there will be any further talks with the CFL, it will not happen until the beginning of 2022 at the earliest. While it is an ongoing situation, the focus of the XFL is to bring football fans the best product it can, in a timeframe that makes the most sense for all involved.
For the Love of Football
Steve G
August 4, 2021 at 9:37 pm
The XFL has a lot more to prove than the CFL. They need to put in at least a couple of full seasons for the CFL to see what they can put on the table.
David Tress
August 5, 2021 at 1:59 pm
If the XFL would have agreed to playing CFL rules football, they could have been playing this year. When you look at the sellout at Mosaic Stadium in Sask, you realize it’s an exciting brand of football. Hopefully the XFL will come around sooner rather than later.