2019 could be an epic disaster. (CFL)

The Canadian Football League is wandering into uncertain territory as of late, with both the CFL and CFLPA heading towards an impasse in their negotiations. Both sides are starting to get hung up on commissioner Randy Ambrosie's idea of lowering the Canadian player ratio down to five spots per team, down from the current seven. This is going to become a major problem for both sides to get past, and no good will come out of it.

To have a commissioner who is Canadian, has played in the CFL for nine seasons and won a Grey Cup, this move makes little sense. Ambrosie also served on the board for the CFLPA during the 1990's, so his position right now is more than quite perplexing. This is a man who has been in the Canadian football system since his university days, and yet might just be the one that brings everything crashing down this spring before the season gets started.

Part of the problem is Ambrosie's ideas on how to expand the influence of the CFL outside of Canada. Making deals with other football leagues is fine, but when it affects Canadian players and pushes them out of roster positions here at home, it becomes a significant problem. Ambrosie is stuck on political correctness and silly projects. The whole 'Diversity Is Strength' nonsense (which is a colossal failure and has has alienated some fans), not to mention his idea of playing a game in Mexico (taking away much needed home game revenue away from a CFL team), are just two examples of backwards thinking.

If anything, Ambrosie needs to enhance Canadian player development, and to bolster the partnerships with the CIS and all university associations. If we can't properly develop football players here at home, how long can the CFL stay relevant? If we can't find new ways to get young people involved (and do so without politics), how can we keep filling the stadiums? Growing the game outside of Canada is fine, but not at it's expense. Ambrosie needs to put the league ahead of his own personal agenda, or step aside. The slope he's taking the league down right now is a slippery one, and no good, if any, can come of all this.

Get ready for a lockout, sports fans.