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The CFL will begin its 2008 regular season in need of a title sponsor for its various player awards, having failed to renew its agreement with Rogers Communications.
Rogers had been a CFL sponsor for each of the past five years, paying $250,000 a season to sponsor honours for players of the week and month, as well as the year-end awards. Rogers also was the sponsor of the Grey Cup halftime show the past two seasons.
Both the CFL and Rogers denied that the failure to reach a deal had anything to do with the tension created by Rogers's decision to bring eight Buffalo Bills NFL games to Toronto over the next five seasons, beginning in August.
“I understand how it can look like more than it is,” CFL chief operating officer Michael Copeland said. “It's strictly a business decision.
“We've been negotiating with Rogers for quite some time and it's a valuable category. We simply haven't been able to come up with a deal that's good for the CFL.”
The failure to reach an agreement comes at a time when the relationship between the two groups is somewhat chilled.
The CFL is believed to have been irked by recent comments from Rogers vice-chairman Phil Lind, who called Southern Ontario “NFL territory” and suggested Toronto should jump at the chance to land an NFL team of its own. Last fall, B.C. Lions owner David Braley suggested Western Canadians may decide to boycott Rogers products because of the company's involvement with bringing the Bills to Toronto.
In addition, Rogers recently announced it was making the Bills' Toronto series the title sponsor to the provincial high-school football championship games, scooping the property from under the CFL's nose.
Copeland confirmed the league is looking to earn more money from its player award sponsorship, but Rogers was only willing to go so far.
“We went in with an offer that was an increase of 30 per cent and they declined,” said Taanta Gupta, Rogers's vice-president of communications. “[Any connection to the Bills' games] would be incorrect. The two are different programs handled individually.”
Sources say Rogers offered to pay the CFL $350,000 a year, but the league is looking for closer to $750,000 a year.
“We are currently discussing these properties with other potential sponsors now that the opportunity has opened up,” Copeland said. “Regardless of sponsorship matters, we will be continuing with [the player awards] in 2008.”
