CFL and CFL Players’ Association have reached a tentative bargaining agreement Wednesday night, ending the second strike in league history.
Details of the agreement are not yet known, but sources say it’s for seven years.
Perhaps the most eager to see a deal reached is the many members of Rider Nation.
Rider Fan Page Administrator Cliff Hanselmann says it doesn’t matter how we got here, the only thing that matters is that there’s going to be football.
“Honestly right now, here we are it’s three, four days before game time and we’re actually going to see games and that’s all I care about as a fan,” said Hanselmann. “They got it done, kudos to them.”
Although agreed to, the deal still has to be ratified by the CFL’s Board of Governors and CFLPA members before players can report to their teams. It is believed players will be able to go through walkthrough practices as soon as Thursday.
As a result of the deal being reached, Monday night’s game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers will go ahead as scheduled.
In anticipation for the new deal, some Riders players have been staying limber, participating in player workout sessions organized by team veterans on Wednesday in an effort to keep themselves ready for training camp.
“Just gotta listen to your body, make sure that you’re doing not too much but just enough to stay in the swing of things and be ready for the start of camp,” said Riders Defensive Back A.J Hendy. We’re athletes, we’re used to adjusting on the fly, so I’m sure everybody will be fine, we’re just taking it in stride and I’m sure it’ll work itself out soon.”
The deal comes four days after players from seven of the CFL’s nine teams walked off the job, and just hours before players from Alberta’s team were legally allowed to strike.
The only previous strike in CFL history occurred in 1974, with a deal being reached just in time for the regular season.
The 2022 CFL season is set to kick off on June 9th.