Whenever sporting authorities come up with a new idea – see, for example, the NFL’s 17 th game – there is always an argument that it’s about “growing the game.” Many fans and pundits disagree, of course, claiming that it’s only ever about money. But those in charge persist with the narrative that expansion, whether that’s through extra games or games played abroad, is the only way to ensure that the sport continues to flourish.

Such narratives aren’t limited to the NFL. In soccer, we saw similar claims made for the European Super League – a pan-national competition that would see the strongest clubs alone compete each season. The proposal went down like a lead balloon and was quickly scrapped, but the arguments of those club owners were familiar: Go with our ideas, or the future of soccer is at risk. Fans were rightly skeptical about such doom-mongering, just as NFL fans would be should the league try to do something similar.

CFL has seen crowds dwindle

And yet, what happens when a sport truly goes into decline? The Economist recently published a feature on that very subject, looking at the deteriorating fortunes of the Canadian Football League. Its conclusion was that the CFL has been the victim of the bogeymen so often cited by NFL bigwigs – “disinterested kids”, “Netflix”, and so on.

The Economist pointed to quantifiable examples of decline, notably attendance at the games, which were down by 50% in some cases. It also looked back at times when the CFL competed with the NFL for top players, citing the decision of Raghib Ismail to head to the CFL in 1991 after starring for Notre Dame in college. At the time, the Toronto Argonauts were able to come up with a $26 million contract and outmuscle anything offered by NFL teams. That was 30 years ago and remains the biggest CFL contract. Today, while some players can earn a couple of million per season, the average salary for Argonauts players is $80K per season.

Grey Cup quest makes for thrilling viewing

The irony, and perhaps the most disappointing element, is that the CFL is still a fine spectacle. In an article looking at this season’s Grey Cup contenders, MansionBet’s Ian Wilkerson wrote of the CFL’s intense competitivity. It’s an exciting league, and The Grey Cup Final – the 2021 event is on December 12 th – can be just as thrillingly dramatic as any Super Bowl. ESPN will broadcast every game of the season live, and it’s well worth tuning into if you haven’t already.

But there is also a harrowing line in The Economist’s article that says something worrying about the CFL and sport in general. It talks of the fans at the games as hardy old-timers, who have been “doing it for as long as they can remember”. The point, as such, is that the traditions of attending the games have been lost. Television viewing figures are also in decline. The culprit is the Netflix generation of millennials, who, it is claimed, generally consume all types of media and entertainment in different ways to previous generations.

Such problems aren’t felt in the NFL, of course. The LA Times reported recently on how NFL was bucking the trend in seeing rising viewing figures this season despite this being an era where many sports are seeing a decline in live television viewers. But you can never say never. And while we all raise an eyebrow when NFL bigwigs talk of existential threats to the game, the CFL is proof that a once-thriving sport can lose its way in the eyes of the fans, even if the action on the field is just as
thrilling as it has ever been.