CFL board vote was clear indicator of Ambrosie’s standing with governors: sources

It wasn’t enough to immediately end Randy Ambrosie’s tenure as CFL commissioner, but it was clear the writing was on the wall.

Ambrosie announced Saturday he will be retiring from his post sometime in 2025 after his successor was chosen. Ambrosie became the CFL’s 14th commissioner July 5, 2017, succeeding Jeffrey Orridge.

His seven-plus year tenure is the second-longest ever behind the late Jake Gaudaur (1968-84).

Ambrosie’s decision was surprising given last year during his annual Grey Cup address Ambrosie was adamant he had no immediate plans to step down. It was generally understood the 61-year-old from Winnipeg — a former CFL offensive lineman with Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton from 1985 to 1993 — would remain in the job at least through the ’26 season when the league’s broadcast deals expired.

5:53 Grey Cup Festival and Half Time announcement

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But league sources said earlier this month the league’s board of governors voted on Ambrosie’s future. They said seven or more teams had to vote in favour of removing Ambrosie for it to become official.

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That didn’t happen. But according to the sources the vote was still 5-4 in favour, a clear indication that Ambrosie didn’t have the board’s full support.

And a big reason for that, according to the sources, was that league distributions — monies the league distributes to its teams through its partnerships and sponsorships — did not reach the governors’ expectations.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as the league hadn’t publicly revealed details of the leadership vote. Ambrosie declined to comment when asked about the vote Saturday.

Calgary Stampeders president Jay McNeil said earlier this week he felt Ambrosie has done well in the role overall.

“Randy is certainly a huge ambassador for this league and has done a good job over some pretty challenging times,” McNeil said. “When you look at his tenure, he has been dealing with fires his entire tenure as commissioner, including the pandemic, which is incredibly hard.”

With Ambrosie set to step down, the big question remains who will succeed him. Whoever does will face reaching a new broadcast agreement, and shortly after that’s done the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players’ Association can be reopened.

McNeil said the next CFL commissioner will need to know about more than just football.

“He needs to have a strong business background, because that’s really what it’s about as we enter into our negotiations for 2027 and as we look to grow,” McNeil said. “We’re not the only team that is looking to grow their ticket base.

“We all are. Having a strong business background will be important.”

–With files from The Canadian Press’ Donna Spencer

2:50 CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie white-hatted in Calgary

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