Rumored details revealed on cfl/xfl merger

[PolarBear]

Firecop, this is fan fiction. And it was fine enough until the part about Hampton Roads being a league centerpiece.

All my sources have informed me that Hampton Roads will be involved if the XFL or whatever the name its going to be called is going to be partnering with the CFL.

I confirmed from reliable sources that government will be ready to pursue a proposal for a new stadium by end of 2021.

[GregParks]

I don't really know what to do with most this, but I will say one of the two things I wish XFL 2.0 had kept from XFL 1.0, along with the receivers in forward motion pre-snap, is the idea of territorial selections. Oliver Luck made a good point that some territories have stronger colleges than others so it wouldn't create the parity that the XFL so desired, but even then, the selections would be a small percentage of the roster. Plus, with no history behind the franchises to draw from, it wouldn't hurt to have players with local ties to drum up interest. Quinton Flowers in Tampa showed how well that could've worked.

[MarkNelson]

Polar Bear: Well you made Twitter go nuts, and all the fans who scour the web looking for tidbits of XFL news are sharding themselves with these rumors.

FYI, in my 21 years following the XFL, and hosting this board, rumors posted in XFLBoard by anonymous users have been about 50% true. I am willing to wait to see how this plays out.

[Tank55]

If you really want heads to explode, imagine Jim Speros is the one to own a Hampton Roads CFL team. He nearly purchased what became the Virginia Destroyers.

[KJE]

I don't really know what to do with most this, but I will say one of the two things I wish XFL 2.0 had kept from XFL 1.0, along with the receivers in forward motion pre-snap, is the idea of territorial selections. Oliver Luck made a good point that some territories have stronger colleges than others so it wouldn't create the parity that the XFL so desired, but even then, the selections would be a small percentage of the roster. Plus, with no history behind the franchises to draw from, it wouldn't hurt to have players with local ties to drum up interest. Quinton Flowers in Tampa showed how well that could've worked.

That sounds awful. While it might work from a marketing perspective, it immediately puts teams on an unbalanced playing field. Every team should have access to the same players.

[Tank55]

Does it work from a marketing perspective? Did it pay off for the AAF? Most XFL fans (it seemed to me) weren't college diehards, and everyone quickly falls in love with their team's best players anyway. Did Roughneck fans care that PJ Walker went to Temple? Would Guardian fans have loved him more because he's from New Jersey?

KJE is also right that it's a competitive advantage for certain markets. It also doesn't help the CFL, which is concerned about their teams being placed at a competitive disadvantage by having to field a percentage of Canadians. Being told that Dallas has to field the same percentage of Texans doesn't really address that.

[GregParks]

I get the complaints about the competitive balance being affected, though I truly wonder how much it would affect things if it were just five or six players out of a 52-man roster. If you wanted to ensure balance, you could make only those at certain positions eligible to be protected, or cap the experience level of those eligible or something. Plus, some teams in XFL2.0 (like Tampa) still found a way to stock local players on their roster even without terriotrial selections.

I would also express concern about going too far in the OTHER direction, where the league is manipulating player movement to ensure more balance. The Antonio Callaway situation and how that came about (through info in the Luck vs. McMahon lawsuit) feels dangerously close to this. Same thing with the league assigning QBs (which, while not exactly the same as territorial selections, shares some of the concers expressed in this thread with that idea).

[Tank55]

Well, it's one thing for Tampa to stock the roster with players with a connection to Florida; the concern would be for the New Yorks and St. Louises. And is it 5 or 6 out of 52, or it is supposed to mirror the CFL ratio, where 21 out of 46 need to be Canadian?

Totally agree about any kind of manipulation at the league level. Give the coaches and GMs the rules and let them figure it out themselves.

[GregParks]

And is it 5 or 6 out of 52, or it is supposed to mirror the CFL ratio, where 21 out of 46 need to be Canadian?

No no, my point had nothing to do with the CFL. As I said in my initial post, I would've preferred teritorial selections like in XFL1.0, where there were far fewer slots for those players.

[PolarBear]

Now i'm not going to pretend I know abou the history of the territorial rule from past leagues. I have tried to gather information and speak with others that know more about it and I have come to conclusion that this rule is a must and be a benefit.

One thing you have to understand is this merger if it happens it to grow revenue and COMPETE with the NFL and College Football for elite talent or to retain players. The CFL has in the past using Anthony Calvillo QB of the Montreal Alouettes. He turned down the Pittsburgh Steelers who they wanted to be their starting QB and stayed in the CFL for a high salary and personal reasons regarding his wife. The Steelers turned to Tommy Maddox and drafted Ben Roethlisberger.

CFL teams/fans want to keep their players so in order to do this they are trying to increase salary cap which is part of my knowledge knowing the CFL has made more money than lost money than media and fans believe.

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So example. 2021 draft is coming up and Sam Ehlinger comes out of Texas and is guaranteed a spot on the Texas-San Antonio Alamos. He signs a 4 yr contact / $15 million contract. Then there is another QB coming out of Texas A&M or El Paso or TCU. Texas San-Antonio releases these other QB's out of their ratio rule so they become UFA..... If Ehlinger doesn't want to sign with Texas-San Antonio cause the Hampton Roads Pirates offer him 4 yr / $18 million then an offer sheet must be matched and then he has to remain with Texas- San Antonio

I believe this is what the future is based off.

One of you suggested a Temple QB playing for a local team, would anyone care? Well first off, nobody cares cause that isn't the type of QB that this merged league might want. They want the elite QB's that aren't going to be drafted in the 1st or 2nd rounds or will try to keep a QB from the NFL if he is projected late 1st or 2nd.

And if you don't think Ehlinger playing and representing a Texas team wouldn't be a great thing along with 15 other Texas stars representing the state, you be wrong!