CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

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GregParks
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CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

Post by GregParks »

This was Tweeted out by @CFL_News, quoting RoughRiders P Jon Ryan, from an interview he did with the Regina Leader Post:


"I think there could be some kind of alliance without a merger. I have some partners who have something to do with the Dallas team (in the XFL) and they kind of talked to me like the agreement would be that the CFL would kind of share the on-field experience with broadcasting with the XFL, and the XFL kind of would share some of the social media and some of the stuff they do on that side of it. They would kind of collaborate on some of those things to make it more powerful. Whatever it's going to be, I'm not too sure, but I'm excited and frustrated at the same time."

Mike Mitchell followed up in a Tweet. His response: "Every indication to this point is that Jon Ryan is not that far off. However, the purpose of the NDA's is for something bigger than this."

As I've made clear before, I would prefer Ryan's scenario as opposed to a full-fledged merger. Yet, as Mike points out, you would think the requirement of NDA's speaks to something more. I just can't figure out how to split the hair of Jon Ryan being "not that far off" but also the NDA's being for "something bigger than this."
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Re: CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

Post by Tank55 »

Well, Mike is extremely diplomatic. I would read that as him saying that Jon's info isn't wrong, but it is (potentially) incomplete. I agree that just sharing best practices isn't worth NDAs and getting everyone worked up.
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Re: CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

Post by 4th&long »

GregParks wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:04 pm This was Tweeted out by @CFL_News, quoting RoughRiders P Jon Ryan, from an interview he did with the Regina Leader Post:


"I think there could be some kind of alliance without a merger. I have some partners who have something to do with the Dallas team (in the XFL) and they kind of talked to me like the agreement would be that the CFL would kind of share the on-field experience with broadcasting with the XFL, and the XFL kind of would share some of the social media and some of the stuff they do on that side of it. They would kind of collaborate on some of those things to make it more powerful. Whatever it's going to be, I'm not too sure, but I'm excited and frustrated at the same time."

Mike Mitchell followed up in a Tweet. His response: "Every indication to this point is that Jon Ryan is not that far off. However, the purpose of the NDA's is for something bigger than this."

As I've made clear before, I would prefer Ryan's scenario as opposed to a full-fledged merger. Yet, as Mike points out, you would think the requirement of NDA's speaks to something more. I just can't figure out how to split the hair of Jon Ryan being "not that far off" but also the NDA's being for "something bigger than this."
Very interesting...
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Re: CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

Post by GregParks »

Tank55 wrote:Well, Mike is extremely diplomatic. I would read that as him saying that Jon's info isn't wrong, but it is (potentially) incomplete. I agree that just sharing best practices isn't worth NDAs and getting everyone worked up.
Right. So my read of it is, on the spectrum of possibilities with Jon's theory being on one end of the spectrum and a full merger being on the other, the NDA's hint at something closer to the merger side, even if it isn't necessarily an actual full merger.

The NDA's are the interesting piece. It's not something you usually see in sports, especially for negotiations; in fact, both sides usually WANT info out, with their spin of course to make them look good. So what's different here?

From the RedBird/XFL side, NDA's may just be more standard operating procedure in their world than we're used to in following sports. The idea of keeping everything a state secret does go against Dany Garcia's public comments about wanting the league to be a highly visible entity with all kinds of access and things of that nature. I find that dichotomy somewhat interesting.

From the CFL side, I look at and all the parties that would be affected by any kind of major partnership with the XFL: Owners (though they're probably kept in the loop on negotiations if not actually having a seat at the table), the player's union, the players themselves, TV partners, sponsors, fans, etc.

With the NDA's in place, I think of one reason specifically: Both sides went into this truly putting everything on the table. The NDA's would be to prevent conversations about any aspect of discussions leaking out and potentially upsetting any of the above interested parties, which would be a hassle especially as the CFL moves forward with an actual season. It's also to prevent "they're talking about X" when in reality they may settle on "Y" which could leave a lot of people angry, disappointed, confused, etc. There's no need to fan the flames if many different variations of partnerships are being discussed and the discussion is broad. Now, talking heads may speculate, as they've done, and use minimal amounts of sourcing, but that's different than big leaks coming directly from anyone associated with the conversations.

In short, I've reached this level of galaxy brain-ing the whole deal:

Image
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Re: CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

Post by 4th&long »

GregParks wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 8:25 am
Tank55 wrote:Well, Mike is extremely diplomatic. I would read that as him saying that Jon's info isn't wrong, but it is (potentially) incomplete. I agree that just sharing best practices isn't worth NDAs and getting everyone worked up.
Right. So my read of it is, on the spectrum of possibilities with Jon's theory being on one end of the spectrum and a full merger being on the other, the NDA's hint at something closer to the merger side, even if it isn't necessarily an actual full merger.

The NDA's are the interesting piece. It's not something you usually see in sports, especially for negotiations; in fact, both sides usually WANT info out, with their spin of course to make them look good. So what's different here?

From the RedBird/XFL side, NDA's may just be more standard operating procedure in their world than we're used to in following sports. The idea of keeping everything a state secret does go against Dany Garcia's public comments about wanting the league to be a highly visible entity with all kinds of access and things of that nature. I find that dichotomy somewhat interesting.

From the CFL side, I look at and all the parties that would be affected by any kind of major partnership with the XFL: Owners (though they're probably kept in the loop on negotiations if not actually having a seat at the table), the player's union, the players themselves, TV partners, sponsors, fans, etc.

With the NDA's in place, I think of one reason specifically: Both sides went into this truly putting everything on the table. The NDA's would be to prevent conversations about any aspect of discussions leaking out and potentially upsetting any of the above interested parties, which would be a hassle especially as the CFL moves forward with an actual season. It's also to prevent "they're talking about X" when in reality they may settle on "Y" which could leave a lot of people angry, disappointed, confused, etc. There's no need to fan the flames if many different variations of partnerships are being discussed and the discussion is broad. Now, talking heads may speculate, as they've done, and use minimal amounts of sourcing, but that's different than big leaks coming directly from anyone associated with the conversations.

In short, I've reached this level of galaxy brain-ing the whole deal:

Image
Also to CFL does not want to open their books to the Canadian government for aid, and they certainly don't want leaks here doing it. Also any talk of leaving the CFL, changing the rules etc... while in pure discussion mode would be a major PR disaster in CFL fandom - so they just dont want it out.
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Re: CFL's Jon Ryan with inside info(?) on what CFL/XFL partnership could look like

Post by Gopher123 »

GregParks wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 8:25 am
Tank55 wrote:Well, Mike is extremely diplomatic. I would read that as him saying that Jon's info isn't wrong, but it is (potentially) incomplete. I agree that just sharing best practices isn't worth NDAs and getting everyone worked up.
Right. So my read of it is, on the spectrum of possibilities with Jon's theory being on one end of the spectrum and a full merger being on the other, the NDA's hint at something closer to the merger side, even if it isn't necessarily an actual full merger.

The NDA's are the interesting piece. It's not something you usually see in sports, especially for negotiations; in fact, both sides usually WANT info out, with their spin of course to make them look good. So what's different here?

From the RedBird/XFL side, NDA's may just be more standard operating procedure in their world than we're used to in following sports. The idea of keeping everything a state secret does go against Dany Garcia's public comments about wanting the league to be a highly visible entity with all kinds of access and things of that nature. I find that dichotomy somewhat interesting.

From the CFL side, I look at and all the parties that would be affected by any kind of major partnership with the XFL: Owners (though they're probably kept in the loop on negotiations if not actually having a seat at the table), the player's union, the players themselves, TV partners, sponsors, fans, etc.

With the NDA's in place, I think of one reason specifically: Both sides went into this truly putting everything on the table. The NDA's would be to prevent conversations about any aspect of discussions leaking out and potentially upsetting any of the above interested parties, which would be a hassle especially as the CFL moves forward with an actual season. It's also to prevent "they're talking about X" when in reality they may settle on "Y" which could leave a lot of people angry, disappointed, confused, etc. There's no need to fan the flames if many different variations of partnerships are being discussed and the discussion is broad. Now, talking heads may speculate, as they've done, and use minimal amounts of sourcing, but that's different than big leaks coming directly from anyone associated with the conversations.

In short, I've reached this level of galaxy brain-ing the whole deal:

Image


I feel this picture best captures everyone who has been trying to figure out the XFL’s next moves over the course of the last year.!! :lol:
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