Drug testing has finally arrived in the CFL.
The league and the CFL Players' Association announced the ratification of a historic four-year collective bargaining agreement Tuesday. For the first time ever, the league will test players for performance-enhancing drugs, starting in 2011.
The new deal also includes increased salaries and a revamped business model, but the biggest development was the formal adoption of a drug policy that's been in the works since 2007.
"We've taken the approach that this is something that's good for our players," CFLPA president Stu Laird said during a news conference. "We take this very seriously and think this is a good move for our players and that's why you see policy the way it has resulted."
The league has come under criticism in the past for not having a drug-testing policy. Under the new deal, testing for performance-enhancing substances will begin next year with 25 per cent of all players to be tested. Thirty five per cent will be tested in 2012 and 2013.
There are some 132 substances on the league's banned list, including human growth hormone. HGH has been controversial in the NFL, which includes it on the banned list but doesn't test for it.
HGH can only be detected through blood testing, which CFL players will be subject to along with urine tests. The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport will handle the testing.
This season, the focus will be on educating players.
"This policy does the right things in the right order," said Michael Copeland, the CFL's chief executive officer. "It focuses first on education and as the experts, including CCES, have advised us education is the best deterrent. These policies are very strong and very serious."
A first offence will lead to mandatory testing and counselling while a second offence triggers a three-game suspension. A player caught for a third time will receive a one-year suspension while a fourth infraction will result in a lifetime ban.
Also, if a player has tested positive for a substance on the CFL's banned list -- either in another pro league or as an amateur -- it will count as a violation under the Canadian league's policy.
Each year, the CFL will also pay to have the top 80 draft prospects tested under the CIS's policy.
Commissioner Mark Cohon said the new CBA will strengthen the league.
"It recognizes the contribution of our players, underscores the importance of Canadians to our game . . . and it introduces for the first time a drug-testing policy that targets performance-enhancing drugs that will truly ensure the integrity of the game and play on the field," he said. "The ratification of this agreement is great news for our league, our players and ultimately our fans because we kick off on Canada Day.
"We're excited to be out in the stadiums and see football played once again."
The CFL kicks off its regular season Thursday night with two games. The Montreal Alouettes visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a Grey Cup rematch before the Calgary Stampeders entertain the Toronto Argonauts.
CFL players will also earn more under this agreement.
The negotiated annual salary caps will be $4.25 million this year, $4.3 million in 2011, $4.35 million in 2012 and $4.4 million in 2013. The minimum player salary increases to $45,000 in 2013 from $41,000 in 2009.
Teams will be required to spend a minimum of $3.9 million on salaries in 2010-'11 and $4 million in 2012-13 while also contribute more to player pensions during the course of the agreement. The CFL will also make an unspecified annual payment to the CFLPA to provide career transition for players, who will also receive increased insurance benefits and expanded medical treatment under the deal.
But those provisions came at a huge cost.
Under the previous agreement, CFL teams had to devote at least 56 per cent of their defined gross revenue to players' salaries. The new deal allows franchises to retain incremental revenues as they build their operations.
"Our teams, whether they're privately or community owned, are investing in the future and this allows them to recoup some of the investment over a period of time," Cohon said.
Also, the league is phasing out the program that allowed CFL players entering their option year to sign with NFL teams between Jan. 1 and Feb. 16, eliminating it for good after February 2012. As well, CFL clubs will be allowed to conduct off-season workouts for veteran players between Feb. 1 and April 30 of any given year.
Players won't be paid for the workouts but will receive a per diem in addition to meals, travel and lodging. The workouts will be voluntary, however with CFL contracts not being guaranteed the sessions could be deemed mandatory for those players on the bubble.
Laird, a former Stampeders defensive lineman, believes the agreement is a good one for both sides.
"When you look at the package of the collective agreement as a whole, we think we got a fair deal for the players," he said. "We established a much higher minimum than what was in place previously.
"We also have an ability to review those, the compensation packages, through different committees after the fact to make sure the players do receive compensation that is fair and reasonable."
There is no change to the designated import rule, nor does the CBA include any provision that reduces the league's Canadian content. That means CFL team rosters will consist of 20 Canadians, 19 Americans and three quarterbacks of any nationality.
The agreement does allow for two additional undrafted Canadian players and non-import quarterbacks to attend training camp without counting towards a team's roster limit.
The deal doesn't address the concussion issue, although there have been discussions within the league's player safety committee, which Cohon chairs and Laird is a member of.
"We've spent quite a bit of time over the last year or so developing our concussion protocols," Copeland said. "We have some very well-formed concussion protocols in place but we've re-examined those and are putting together a concussion policy that will stand up to any that exist in sport.
"We have a player safety welfare committee that it will fall under but we're well down the road in terms of our work in concussion injuries."
