CFL commissioner admits 2020 season likely to be wiped out
Posted May 7, 2020 3:56 pm.
Last Updated May 8, 2020 8:45 am.
OTTAWA – CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie says the most likely scenario for the league is a cancelled 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambrosie made the admission for the first time while testifying to a House of Commons standing committee on finance on Thursday.
Ambrosie appeared via video during a panel on arts, culture, sports and charitable organizations after news broke last week that the CFL had requested up to $150 million in financial assistance from the federal government.
During his testimony, Ambrosie said the league’s future is “very much in jeopardy.”
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The commissioner said the nine teams have collectively lost $10-20 million per season in recent years.
Ambrosie said, unlike many major North American pro sports leagues, television is not the No. 1 revenue source for the CFL, which always has been as a gate-driven league.
