SportsCage and TSN analyst Glen Suitor believes the CFL negotiation list process can be more balanced for the players.
"The team can hold that player on a neg list and if they don't necessarily need that position, then that player sits there. He doesn't have a chance to go play somewhere else," Suitor said on The SportsCage. "I think it's a little one-sided, I'd like to see the players have a little more rights."
According to 3DownNation insider Justin Dunk, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have added NFL quarterback Trey Lance to the team's negotiation list. Lance could be familiar with the CFL since his dad, Carlton, played 13 games as a defensive back with the Riders in 1993.
Lance was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round, third overall during the 2021 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. Overall, Lance has made around $34 million USD in the NFL while playing in 12 games, throwing for 1,063 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
Each CFL team can hold 45 players on its negotiation list. That gives them the exclusive negotiating rights to those players. Suitor wants the lists to be open to the public.
"They made it private and I don't know exactly why they have to do that. We're talking about it now because of one player's name. If you knew all the players, that creates a lot of discussion as to whether or not a player might come up here that is not getting a look in the NFL and wants to keep playing," Suitor said.
"I would rather see these guys be on a big, huge list that we can all talk about that any CFL team could pick up at any time. If you need a receiver and there's a couple on that big, huge list, go and get one."
"Maybe Jeremy O'Day could answer this question immediately. Honestly, I don't see a benefit. If they're locked in any way and they don't even know, then why is it a secret? Why the Players' Association doesn't push back on this more is interesting to me because what is in it for the American player?"
Suitor liked the initial idea the CFL negotiation list served when it was first introduced.
"The neg list early on had a purpose for teams. The team goes down to say Texas, does a free agent camp on its own expense, sees 100 players, and there's three or four or five of them that they look at and say: 'Those are guys that we really think could make a difference on our team, let's put them on the neg list,'" Suitor explained.
"They did the work to do that, so therefore, they wanted a way to allow teams to protect those players. You went down and looked at them, you went down and ran your camp, and you found them. Even if they're NFL guys, you went and saw them personally at your own expense, so now you can put them on and protect them on this neg list."
