There’s nothing wrong with the CFL venturing to Mexico and conducting a draft full of Guillermos, Juans and Franciscos.
Football players can come from anywhere. Money . . . that’s tougher to find.
As TSN’s Dave Naylor pointed out on the Green Zone, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie is looking to increase his league’s annual revenues. So Ambrosie’s southern venture has a monetary bent. He knows Mexico’s population is 125 million and that Mexicans — like all countries — are proud of their athletes. If one of the 27 Mexican players drafted Monday ever plays in the CFL the TV viewership could explode, leading to massive advertising income from another country. Plans are also afoot to look at Germany. For roster purposes, the CFL does need to decide if the newcomers are nationals or internationals.
There’s a limit to how much money the CFL can generate in Canada. There’s probably also a limit to how many CFL players Canada can produce. Ambrosie knows it’s time to start looking somewhere else.