MERGING THE NFL AND CFL

What's up guys welcome back to the channel and welcome back to another concept video! Today we are looking at what a merger between the two biggest football leagues in North America would look like!
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0:00 - NFL + CFL
2:28 - NFL JERSEY GIVEAWAY
3:16 - Concept 1
7:32 - Concept 2
13:48 - Thanks for Watching!

[@sportsmanlikemisconduct]

How would you handle the merging of the NFL and CFL? FOR THE GIVEAWAY YOU CAN ALSO MESSAGE ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA (linked in my channel bio)

[@Sez___]

Would just keep everything the same but make CFL it's own conference. Then you just have to work out playoff logistics

[@ocularzombie6679]

I like your divisions, and if we did that, I would've gone eastern and western conferences, with your Southeastern, Mid-Atlantic (ish), and Northeastern being east and the others being west.

[@Sez___]

@@ocularzombie6679 yeah helps with time zones too I'm shre

[@joeytheslimeboi8900]

@@Sez___or just add a team to Halifax or a second Toronto team and evenly split everyone up between the two conferences

[@Jasmine-jl9kb]

The CFL teams will probably take a couple of years to catch up to current NFL teams before we would see a Canadian team in the playoffs given that they primarily consist of ex-NFL players and college players that weren’t good enough to play on an NFL roster

[@mattmc20]

The problem is all the CFL players would be let go as soon as the merger happened. There would really be no value in it for the NFL as there is just to large a disparity with talent.

[@codyssmith73]

Most CFL players could make an NFL practice squad. The major issue is size differences more so than talent. We’ve seen CFL players translate to the NFL & vice-versa.

[@robinHobin]

It’s a hypothetical video for fun dude

[@stephintheatre6335]

The merger will never happen different rules for both leagues.

[@toddtaylor6506]

Don't take any flack for calling the Jets and Giants New York teams. They are, they play literally within sight of NYC and are ONLY in New Jersey because New York refused to build them a stadium(s) when they wanted to stay. Oddly enough we're building a stadium for the Bills now. BTW San Fransico plays in Santa Clara ... about 50 miles away from San Francisco. So, it's best to just ignore the semantic jibber jabber of people that complain about things like this.

[@gamingjesus420]

They are new jersey teams not new York they aren't in new York

[@cjkavy2299]

lol stay mad dumbass they play in new jersey

[@rgoldenphoenix]

@@gamingjesus420can you read

[@johnbrown5958]

no they play in jersey

[@Togattawof]

can you read

[@rhcp76]

It would be fun to explore the rules of this new league. The field size, do we keep the single point? How many downs? The open field kicking rules, how many man in motions? I think it deserves another video!!!

[@derricktalbot8846]

4 downs is easier to adjust to. Keeping the Rouge is easy to implement, and increases action and/or scoring. Field size? I say we do it like proper Football.... have the field dimension requirements be between a range X and Y and Z. This would allow for strategizing the narrowing of the field for some teams, shortening it for high powered OFF. Just lots of variation that increases the complexity of the sport. the FG posts NEED to be at the back... I mean... they are even at the back in the crazy aussie rules football Increasing man in motions is probably what a lot of NFL teams already want. open field kicking? like... the 5 yard buffer between the returner and the special teams trying to pike him as soon as he catches it? I prefer it CFLs way... requires actual technique to tackle, allows for the split seconds that might be needed for a blocker to get between the returner and his hunters... and will lead to more returns in general. I think the biggest hurdle is the least obvious..... Income Tax. Americans will not want to pay both taxes HERE and there because they work here but live permanently in the States. We will need to pass a law that allows for exemptions just to get top players to consider coming up here.

[@egerlachca]

Yes! This is what I was hoping this video was going to be. I have loved theorizing how NFL teams would adjust to CFL fields and rules. Would you have to expand the distance and penalty on No Yards to 20 yards? How would 3 downs change the balance of passing and running plays? What does the wider field do to the running game?

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

I don't ever want the rules merged tbh because I love Canadian rules but realistically, if we didn't just completely switch to NFL rules in this type of merger I think the best Canadians could possibly hope for would be our kicking rules getting transferred, Rouges, Onside rules, live play kicks, Canadian Punt/FG return rules. Maybe our clock system if we were lucky because it's ridiculous how easy it is to burn clock in American ball.

[@solracer66]

The biggest problem would be scheduling, it's bad enough playing in Green Bay in January, can you imagine playing outside in Edmonton? The only way I see this working is for the Canadian teams to all have stadiums with a roof of some sort which most of them besides the BC Lions (oddly located in the warmest city in Canada) don't have (though Montreal does have the State Olympique which could be used as needed).

[@henryca03]

The field size should be an obvious one, since it's easier for the Canadian clubs to adapt to the NFL's dimensions (120 yards by 53⅓ yards) than the American clubs adapting to the CFL's dimensions (150 yards by 65 yards).

[@jambeard6201]

i liked the concept and the division line ups in the second concept but i think the easiest solution would be just keeping the conferences the way they are both in US and Canada while adding the 10th team in Canada and just add the eastern and western conferences to the AFC and NFC respectively, calling them AFC/NFC Canada.

[@M42-Orion-Nebula]

"American Football Conference, Canada"

[@gsquare6382]

What US team would want to share revenue with these Canadian backwater losers. Lots of US cities would bring more to the table if given an NFL team.

[@fridgewaffles]

i think realistically, the best option for Canadian conferences would be to drop one CFL team and make 2 4 team conferences, maybe drop Winnipeg as it is the smallest market

[@henryca03]

Personally, I would rename the AFC North and NFC North back to the AFC Central and NFC Central, and have the two CFL divisions become the new AFC North (CFL East) and NFC North (CFL West).

[@TheBandit025Nova]

No Canada teams would be in the NFC divisions since it’s an bloody insult to call them American

[@Gallalad1]

I've been living in Canada for a bit in Ottawa (which is in Ontario too). From what I can see its probably the Blue Bombers and Roughriders who are the most passionate and have the biggest rivalry imo. Also two teams with the same name is honestly not as big an issue as you think. Before they were the RedBlacks Ottawa were called the Rough Riders so it'd probably just be a thing where people would clarify the city more than the nickname. Option 2 is also way better tbf. You could do something like the Dominion and Republic Conferences or something to give a hint at both. It'd be funny to see how they'd merge the rules in this situation because both sides are gonna hate it lol.

[@jambeard6201]

As a bombers fan i think the most passionate rivalry is bombers/roughriders but its hard to argue against the battle of alberta not being the biggest rivalry in the cfl, for a good chunk of the 90's/early 2000's they were two of the top teams and you could probably say that as well for somewhere in the 60 through 80's as well but thats before my time

[@Gallalad1]

@@jambeard6201 I am not in Canada long enough to know all I know is whenever I talk to my friends in Edmonton about the CFL they call me weird for taking an interest since it’s not hockey lol

[@delta1730]

@@jambeard6201 I dont think our Berta battle is as big in football anymore sadly. Ever since the eskimos changed their name nobody wants to watch the game anymore. And the CFL letting our player like Rourke just leave to the NFL is an issue.

[@rickzane6433]

Ticats-Argos is the longest rivalry and we're not quitting on it. Ticats fans are passionate and wild. And they also travel with a big smile and fancy outfits.

[@delta1730]

@@rickzane6433 Normally a rivalry gotta go both ways man. Ticats are a good fan base but Argos aint got nothing

[@toddtaylor6506]

Don't discount the rivalry between Arizona and Dallas. Prior to being moved to the NFC West the Cards played the majority of their years as members of the NFC East (in St. Louis and Phoenix) and thus played the Cowboys twice a year for many, many years.

[@zaneblair6422]

I like the 2nd concept a lot. Only Change I would make would be swapping g the colts and browns. The AFC north is very competitive with each other and close geographically so it makes sense to keep them together

[@DUNKIN_DEAN]

I liked your idea and video. The NFL has plans to expand into Mexico and Europe, so imagine how that would add to your concept! I’d like to see how the CFL and NFL would blend their rules and regulations. You’ve got me thinking now. I subscribed to your channel, so I’m looking forward to more content from you!

[@mr.dunbar5130]

Cool video! Buffalo really should be in a division with Detroit, Hamilton and Toronto though!

[@adamwillis679]

Great idea, only one change I would make. I feel like you have to have Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo all in the same division. That would be some intense city rivalries

[@Drew25t]

Interesting concept but I would prefer a XFL, USFL, CFL merger for a minor league. NFL is the best league for a reason…

[@CityPlannerPlaysChair]

Well you got 2/3 merging. Now you need the Cfl to join

[@dominicpancella3012]

That would be really interesting. Put the Schooners in and add a few teams to the US leagues to get to 32 (if I had to pick 6 they'd be in Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Oklahoma City, Omaha, and Virginia Beach). Then have each be an affiliate of an NFL team like the NHL/AHL.

[@jasonmclean7544]

It would make no sense for the CFL.The other leagues are too unstable

[@petetobey3933]

Back around 1983 or ‘84, when I was in, oh, ninth grade I think, I came up with a merger of the CFL and USFL, plus I threw in a couple of WFL and concept teams to bring it up to 28 teams, then split into Eastern and Western Conferences. I even drew helmets with a template, and had some fun with it for a few years. I resurrected the idea later on with a few other teams, like the Baltimore Stallions.

[@jeffodabear]

Great video, first one I've seen but I'm an NFL fan too, so you definitely earned my subscribe!

[@ericpoyntz7460]

Once again great video, you obviously did a good amount of research. My only thought might be getting rid of the conferences and just having 7 divisions of 6 teams. that way you can make it more regional. Like adding BC and Seattle to the 49ers, that way you don't lose the 49ers-Seahawks rivalry but can also grow the Seattle BC at the same time. Also if may allow you to place all the NY and Ontario teams in the same division on the east

[@sportsmanlikemisconduct]

I agree. The original layout of 7 divisions of 6 is one I prefer a lot more compared to the final one in this video, but in terms of organization I figured having an even amount of divisions in each conference was more fitting

[@derricktalbot8846]

Nah mate. DET already has a paying fanbase in SW Ontario. They will suffer the least from being split apart from their orig division. No one from south of Hamilton is going to Ottawa or BUF if DET and TOR are in the same league :) I should have found this post before dropping my own comment. The North American Football League... easy to rebrand :) or change National to simply Northern... and save on rebranding :) Would allow for MEX expansions. BC CAL EDM SEA SF LAC LAR/HOU California has enough fans to support those 3. BC is coastal. CAL EDM in my opinion, can not be split. ARZ LV DEN KC DAL NOLA HOU/LAR This one seemed the most obv. UNLESS. You swap 1 TX team for 1 LA team... allowing for the Red VS Blue merch to be sold to culture war crazies TEN CAR ATL JAC TB MIA DC Punishing DC for having a ridiculous name. SASK WPG MIN GB CHI CIN IND Riders and Bombers can not be split. same with Gb Min Chi... CIN and IND are not on the Lakes. this one is good to go. Also? pretty much on the same highway yea? Good for fans. DET TOR HAM NYG PIT CLE BAL Lions and Argos organizations will benefit from a rivalry that already pumps millions into their teams.... Red Wings / Leafs. These two teams must be together. CLE is on the lake... and BAL is closest to DC, which is being punished for pandering in the most idiotic way. OTT MON BUF NE HFX NYJ PHI It was BAL or PIT for this division.... but I wanted at least 1 NFC team here to encourage new rivalries. and no... the NYG and NYJ can not be in the same division.... for the same reason that TOR and BUF can not. Toronto and Buffalo are basically the same city when it comes to which teams to support. There are no Bills fans in SW Ontario who will spend money to make the trip. this organization of teams allows for automatically calculated schedules. Ideally you would cut the number of games to 14, and have 4 bye weeks to help the players survive post career. That would ensure fans see their team play the others at least every 5 years. 4 downs. Keep the Rouge. More men in motion, but not as much as CFL. Range of Field dimensions so teams can strategize with how long/narrow their field is. Allowing for every team to have a different sized field if they want. No space between OFF and DEF lines. CFL 5 yard buffer for Punt receiver!

[@TheBeggies95]

This was entertaining. Also love you mention my town of Moncton New Brunswick!

[@squatch545]

Instead of an East-West latitude alignment, you'd bet better off with a North-South longitudinal alignment for the divisions. That way teams stay in their own time zones mostly, making it easier on travel. e.g. West BC Seattle LA Chargers LA Rams SF 49ers Las Vegas

[@kazenrova6845]

I believe in the CFL you would have to look west for the biggest rivalry as those are the more popular teams with much larger stadiums. Elks and Stampeders battle of Alberta has always been pretty big and Lions and blue bombers are also really good. Great video, loved watching someone do something cfl related

[@ericpoyntz7460]

Unfortunately, I think it is more likely that the NFL will have a pro team in Europe before they have one in Canada

[@WhtCrstlJudgmntDrgn]

It wasn't long ago, that the Buffalo Bills were playing games in Toronto, with plans to make it a more permanent thing.

[@robtaylor4365]

The NFL games in Toronto were a dud! Did they even sell out? Stadiums are the biggest obstacle. I can't see anyone building NFL caliber stadiums in Canada. A new NFL stadium is 3 to 4 billion USD. Nobody will spend that on a stadium in Canada.

[@LOTS_OF_PYRO]

As a Canadain Football Player/Coach. And a fan of the NFL. I've said that the NFL needs to "Adapt" some of the CFL Rules. Rules the NFL should Adapt from the CFL: Allow for Players in Motion like CFL - This Eliminates "Ilegal Procedure" Flag Abuse Move the NFL Kickoff Line 10-15 Yd back and force the Return Team to actually return the ball - Makes Kicker's Pay actually worth the power of their Leg Strength Remove the "Fair Catch" Rule and put in the 5yd Buffer Rule instead.

[@jthompson759]

It’s important to keep the 3 down game! Very entertaining football

[@LOTS_OF_PYRO]

@@jthompson759 100% Agree!

[@DGriff-ix5el]

Agree 100%!

[@bradybeijes3232]

Biggest issue much like the NHL would be star players not wanting to play for Canadian teams due to taxes

[@scotttild]

Its not so much taxes it is currency exchange. They earn money in Canada Dollars but are paid in U.S. Dollars. Its a very odd system for sports teams but all the leagues pay contracts in U.S. Dollars.

[@tastyneck]

This was interesting. Nice job!

[@ericrivas4106]

I came up with a similar merger concept of the two leagues before. I brought back the central division and created a maritime division (mainly because I too threw in the Atlantic schooners team to roughly round out the league as even as possible.)

[@petrab8415]

Love the concept

[@jbillma]

I wasn't optimistic-- or at all happy-- with the first concept. However, I really like the second concept. It renews an old rivalry between the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, and has potential for a rivalry between the Browns and the Green Bay Packers. Plus the Colts-Ravens could develop into an intense rivalry (kinda like the Browns-Ravens rivalry today), and I really like the addition of the NHL's Montreal-Boston rivalry to football. A little bummed by the Browns and Steelers not being in the same division, and I'm sure splitting up the Packers and Vikings won't be popular either, but as a Browns fan I'm happy with this.

[@arcsine]

fun video! Only thing I'd suggest (for 'realism' - not that it really matters since you said it was just for fun but just a thought) is that you keep the divisions with more US teams than Canadian where possible. YOu could get an idea by looking at the NHL divisions to see how they do it since most CFL cities also have NHL teams. I just think Seattle would be like 'yo wtf' having only Canadian teams in their divison lol. Anyway was a fun video cheers

[@jeremyd1869]

Nice concept and very interesting! Any thoughts about reconciling some of the rules and field differences?

[@sportsmanlikemisconduct]

I think it would be a little too difficult to get down to a set format. Taking the respective leagues’ rules away basically takes away what makes those leagues what they are. So I’ll leave it to all of our imaginations to figure it out lol

[@halconess]

I would want to see the schedule for this. Also if we thought February was a far away, how long would a season be when theirs 10 more teams?

[@ericcasagrande]

Over time I think we'd find out that only Toronto could cut it financially. We already learned that with the departure of the Montreal Expos (MLB) and the Vancouver Grizzlies (NBA).

[@jibbjabb43]

It really depends on what the financial implications would be. You drop a dome in the right spots and I think the returns would be 'satisfied' for the NFL in all the Hockey cities. They have the population and a major sport appeal would be enough to sell 60K seats each week most years. But asking some rich dude to buy a dome for Edmonton will go over about as well as asking for one in Omaha. And they likely won't pursue outdoor football in December in certain Canadian cities.

[@jimeb2jim256]

The financial problems that hit the expos and grizzlies are as much different today as they were ten years ago. Plus the NFL has figured out how to print money. Different animal.

[@scotttild]

I agree but the issues with Montreal and Vancouver still exist today. I think the currency issue is still a huge problem for any teams in Canada. Before the last NHL CBA almost half the Canada teams were near bankruptcy.

[@jibbjabb43]

@@scotttild Montreal and Vancouver were never the problem though. I can't speak to NHL money(20 of the teams seem like a car accident away from bankruptcy) but Montreal's 'problems'with the Expos was the stadium and the climate in baseball(They needed like 5 more years to ride it out) while Vancouver could have easily rode out the situation with better ownership.

[@marklittle8805]

Montreal was trapped in a bad stadium and a carpet bagger owner. Vancouver was just a carpetbagger owner. The Late David Stern said letting The team go to Memphis was his greatest regret and error

[@chrisbabcock4625]

In both of these scenarios I was really surprised you didn't have Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo all together. All 3 cities are less than 100 miles apart. Otherwise, very interesting.

[@rjw8625]

Came here to make a similar comment

[@dixonhill1108]

I'd also add in some NHL rivalry cities like putting detroit in as well.

[@DMS-pq8]

I could see Toronto getting an NFL franchise someday as their NBA and MLB franchises have done well but I'm not sure any other Canadian city has the fanbase, Population or money to support an NFL team

[@scotttild]

NFL said they don't want to expand to Canada and compete with the CFL. They had an mutual understanding. Canada has nationalized TV so they would also have to figure that out as well. Further the taxes and payments in U.S. Dollars are always an issue for pro teams in Canada. NFL might be able to make it work because they have a decent labor agreement and CBA.

[@dixonhill1108]

Which is code that they don't think Canada's viable, nor do they want to lose support for Buffalo. @@scotttild

[@trishaleaver3581]

It’s not about the city size, tho it does help. It’s about TV advertising deals and who is paying for the right to broadcast the games. Buffalo NY is not a big city but has a fantastic fan base. Somehow this works. Miami has a huge population but don’t fill their stadium even with a winning team. Again it’s really about advertising and broadcasting rights.

[@danielupsdell2697]

vancouver would but we would have to change our name

[@gregmoore8620]

It makes sense. It sounds like a great idea.

[@kyledabearsfan]

I think it would be hard to expand currently, but I would love to games between the leagues though, that could draw another level of excitement. Id love to see regular CFL vs NFL games. Occasionally a CFL player comes to the NFL does well. Could do a game or two in the spring for scouting purposes and just to keep football hype for more of the year. But, I think there would be riots if they tore up the Chicago Bears and Packers division games.

[@zdr7420]

As a Packers fan, I agree, you can't break up this rivalry

[@kyledabearsfan]

@@zdr7420 without the Packers and Bears there is no NFL. Both franchises actually saved each other from closing their doors at different points. It's a rivalry I'm proud to be on the other side of. There is no NFL without Lombardi or Halas.

[@mpetersen6]

The Packers Bears rivalry is to the NFL what the Yankees Red Sox is to MLB.

[@pocobull]

As far as CFL rivalries go, Edmonton -Calgary is just as big as Winnipeg -Saskatchewan and Toronto-Hamilton, so good job preserving that. And the Edmonton -Calgary rivalry goes beyond the CFL, into the NHL as well. Also in terms of potential Canadian expansion sites, Laval Quebec was proposed several years ago. The stadium in Laval is much closer to being CFL ready, Laval would provide an instant rivalry for the Alouettes, and it would be a better geographic fit for that division.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Just for the proximity; Buffalo, Hamilton and Toronto should be in the same division. You can't break up the Battle of Ohio.

[@lcr4696]

I was actually hoping for a merger with the XFL. This would make sense, because both leagues games are similarly faster paced, there's no flags thrown every other play. If you compare an XFL/CFL game with an NFL game, you'll notice the slower pace of NFL games. I also had the idea that games played on XFL fields would use XFL rules, and vise versa. This would add a whole new level of strategy to the league, and every season's final championship game would alternate between CFL, and XFL fields.

[@johnkeating34]

Good idea like the shrum bowl play home team rules would be awesome

[@canderia]

Got the Brown and Bengals mixed up. I don't like losing the division rivalries, but it's an interesting thought experiment

[@chrissao_502]

With concept 2, you could have 12 divisional games and 7 games against all teams in another division and have the divisional matchups be on a 5 year rotating basis. That would be 19 games, which would be likely 3 or 4 bye weeks (which the CFL has). Then have the top 2 teams in each division make playoffs plus 2 wild cards per conference for a full 16 team playoff.

[@hulluporo9067]

I don´t know. The NFL and the CFL should remain seperate leagues. Maybe the CFL should think about expanding to some US markets not far away from the border. Like Portland (Oregon), Boise, Milwaukee, Columbus, Hartford, Portland (Maine)

[@tygrkhat4087]

Columbus? No way, wouldn't be able to compete with THE Ohio State University.

[@9holegolf905]

@@tygrkhat4087or Cincinnati bengals or Cleveland browns. I honestly wouldn’t watch any of the cfl games

[@scotttild]

Interesting idea but lots of issues including taxes and payments in U.S Dollars instead of Canada Dollars. One reason why Canada teams in the NBA and NHL struggle is the currency exchange. There is also the issue of Canada’s nationalized TV so some kind of deal would have to be worked out. It could work it could also be an epic disaster.

[@ghoponit]

Ya I feel most players wouldn’t want to play in communist Canada.

[@brianbidiuk3125]

How many years to play a season? Lol! Great concept. I'm not sure my fellow Canadians would like OUR 110 year old 'Grey Cup' go south. That's right 110 years. Rules were lost in translation while crossing southern border. Pretty sure they tried playing each others rules in the 'Can-Am Bowl' a few times. The thing is about Canadian Professional Sports is that we actually have real Trophies. Actual Silver Bowls with every player's name that ever won it, etched in the trophy, which the winning team then gives back to the league beginning new season only to try to win it again. Look at the Grey Cup, the Stanley Cup. How many thousands of flashy golden footballs pretending to be trophies are out there? Gonna need a REAL Trophy for this League. Great job on merging Leagues.

[@seen48]

Amazing alignment of the league. It needs to be done now in the NFL

[@EvansProdz13]

nice pick for the song at the beginning

[@EvansProdz13]

it really wasn’t the song but a bit from the beginning guitar part from you gotta fight for your right to party

[@MountainDewComacho494]

This is at least better than a lot of the college football conference realignments.

[@SaskTransfer]

I firmly believe that NFL players playing on a CFL sized field with CFL rules would be the greatest thing to ever happen to the game of football

[@jamesstricklin5201]

I love it

[@delta1730]

The issue I think with a merger is how much we like football. I live here in canada and the main issue is we LOVE our football as it is. We love the bigger field, we love the three downs. It makes the game faster and higher scoring. The other issue would be the 50/50 rule at ALL time sin the CFL you need to have at least 6 canadians on the field and at least 50% of the team has to be Canadian. I lvoe the idea and the first idea for the divisions. I would love a merger but I dont wanna lose the rules of our sport

[@sportsmanlikemisconduct]

Yeah both fan bases wouldn’t be too happy with their favorite leagues’ rules being changed so I didn’t know how to approach it really. I do plan on getting into the CFL this next upcoming season though. Kinda excited to see the differences like the field and rules etc

[@melberry5379]

I think the rules would work themselves out fairly quickly. There's even precedent. Back in the day, there were CFL/NFL exhibition games until the NFL just got too good. I've heard of several mismashes of the rules. I think the biggest problem would be money and players rights. In the NFL, all teams pool TV money and there's a salary cap minimum. The money for teams and players is so much higher, by orders of magnitude, that the NFL would have to subsidize the CFL teams for years.

[@delta1730]

@@melberry5379 Honestly yea. its sad because CFL used to be competitive. I really wish more Americans would watch our sport considering we have 2 extra months of it. If they did merge I think theyd probably settle for a lot of the rules to be similar to college. Like one foot in bounds is a catch.

[@dixonhill1108]

The CFL would turn into the NFL overnight and I don't think most people would care. The big stipulation to me would be keeping 3 downs as an aspect of the game. I'm sure you could make it work where it's only for part of a game or something like that, or have 3 down exhibition etc.

[@delta1730]

@@dixonhill1108 I like that Idea. I mean the CFL would be the one making accommodations for the NFL but In all honesty I wouldnt be surprised if they instead kept the NCAA rules that the CFL has. More players every year wanna keep the one foot is in and stuff

[@cleggo-my-eggo]

I feel like this concept would be cool to explore in terms of using a tier system - a premier division and a national division (not names I’d personally use but just for the sake of this concept). Have the top 21 teams play for the Super Bowl + realign the divisions to match where teams are located geographically in the premier conference and for the national conference have the top 7 teams play for relegation rights to go to premier if they’re top 3, with the bottom 3 in the premier conference being relegated down. Could incentivize more lucrative pay bonuses for being relegated up + winning in premier conference playoffs. I have no idea how scheduling would work though 🤷🏽‍♂️😂

[@frentz7]

When you say "both leagues have their differences," what exactly do you mean? As compared to what, just one of the leagues having its differences?

[@JonathanRZeko]

You can’t merge teams in different leagues that have very different rules, including different field dimensions. Even if Canada would change its rules and fields to conform with the NFL requirements, there would become a dilution in talent that would hurt the NFL. Leave well enough alone. I do appreciate the work you did, and the imagination of your premise.

[@bradybeijes3232]

There really wouldn't be though as this would open up more opportunities for top Canadian players who otherwise wouldn't pursue the sport due to a lack of opportunities here, as someone who had an offer to go play for the Junior Tiger Cats, trust me, there's alot of us who walk away after high school or college due to the CFL not paying well enough, only real way for Canadians to get an opportunity now is to go to school in the states, also to say there isn't already great players in the CFL would be false, Streveler didn't get much opportunity but played well when the Jets used him, Nathan Rourke could be a starter if he getsan opportunity and Doug Flutie, Cameron Wake and Warren Moon were quite successful in both leagues not to mention this would open up opportunities for guys like Newton, Kaepernick, Brisset, Darnold, Bridgewater, Winston, Huntley even young guys who are backups like Lock, Jones or Zappe, Rourke, Lance, Willis, Mills, Corral, Cunningham, Trask, Thompson, Wilson could all be given opportunities to prove themselves, 9 teams is alot but I'd say 4 or 6 is more realistic anyway, 4 would be perfect for a division and an expansion draft would likely be held similar to the NHL where teams protect some players but teams like the 49ers and Eagles still have some great players to pick from which would just make the entire league more balanced, I don't see players wanting to move to Canada though so that could be problematic

[@KenTrosper]

The would have to compromise and introduce midfield as the 52.5 yard line.

[@davidgerow]

Very interesting.

[@dominicpancella3012]

42 is a tough number to work with, but I think going with 6 divisions of 7 is the right move. Here's how I'd probably divide them: Western conference - Pacific: BC Lions, Stampeders, Elks, Rams, Chargers, 49ers, Seahawks - South: Cardinals, Cowboys, Broncos, Texans, Chiefs, Raiders, Saints - North: Bears, Detroit Lions, Packers, Colts, Vikings, Rough Riders, Blue Bombers Eastern conference - North: Schooners, Bills, Alouettes, Patriots, Jets, RedBlacks, Argonauts - Central: Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Tiger-Cats, Giants, Eagles, Steelers - South: Falcons, Panthers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Titans, Commanders As far as scheduling is concerned, each team could play its division twice (6 × 2 = 12 games) and the teams from each other division that finished in the same place in the standings once (5 games) to get to 17, or play the division once (6 games), another division in the conference once (7 games), and the remaining same-place teams once (4 games) and that would also get you to 17. Since the NFL currently uses 17 and CFL 18, I think it wouldn't make a huge difference. For playoffs I think you'd need to introduce an NHL-type format, but where the top 2 teams from each division make it as the 1-3 (division winners) and 4-6 (runner-ups) seeds, while the next best two teams in each conference are wild cards at 7 and 8. Then have a best-plays-worst style tournament re-seeded after each round like the NFL currently does, and finish with the Super Grey Cup-Bowl-maybe alternate between American and Canadian host sites. The only problem is time of year, because the NFL is mostly a fall league and the CFL is mostly a summer league. Maybe start in July and go through December or something.

[@utry_daniel438]

it'd be kinda cool if they brought back the AFL name since both countries are still in "america."

[@0tto9]

Great job. Who's rules? CFL, NFL XFL, USFL, NFL Europe, College, Canadian Flag Football? Shake it up. Keep the videos coming.

[@henryca03]

If the two leagues did merge, it would likely mostly follow the NFL rules. However, the CFL's overtime procedure should be adopted, albeit modified. 1) Possessions start 1st and 20 at 35-yard line. 2) Mandatory two-point conversion after any touchdown. 3) Two procedure limit during the regular season. 4) In postseason OT, first two possessions follow regular season rules. Starting with the third OT procedure, possessions start 1st and goal at 20-yard line, and no field goal attempts are allowed. Taking a page from the original XFL, on the third and subsequent OT procedures, if Team A scores a touchdown in less than four downs, Team B must either match or surpass that score within the same number of downs. Also, the combined leagues should use the CFL's method of announcing penalties of using the team's region identifier (except in the case where the Giants/Jets or Chargers/Rams play each other, the team name would be used), rather than which side of the ball they're on (ex. "Holding, New York, #74" instead of "Holding, Offense, #74"). Additionally regarding the BC Lions and Detroit Lions, since Detroit is the older of the two clubs (Detroit founded in 1930 in Portsmouth, Ohio and BC in 1954), the BC Lions would be renamed the BC Cougars.

[@paulalverson7211]

I was interested and how you would have tackled the part where they would have to play way more number of football games?

[@NanaMacTwins]

As a lifelong NFL fan let’s do it! 🏈

[@vincenthuying98]

Regarding the fact that the CFL has at least some differences with the NFL considering rules and measurements, it would have been interesting if you had added a section in which you tackled this ‘problem’ between leagues when combining them.

[@DMS-pq8]

CFL would be joining the NFL so they would have to change to playing NFL rules

[@hansond200]

@@DMS-pq8 no the CFL isnt just joining the NFL they are both mereging no one league would be above the other and as such they would probably just combine both leagues

[@DMS-pq8]

@@hansond200 The NFL is a multi-billion dollar league one of the biggest sports leagues in the world, The CFL is a minor league in a small population country so no it would not an equal merger

[@johnkeating34]

@@DMS-pq8love the cfl but not on the same level

[@wiggz2254]

@@DMS-pq8 CFL Is not a minor league, a lot of people will play in the cfl because it has a better opportunity.

[@KornKobb]

Fun Fact, the Baltimore Stallions won the grey cup in their second, and final season in 1995. (Edit, Fun Fact number two: The Stallions were called the CFLers in 1994, and lost the grey cup that year.)

[@scottweaver4004]

They had a good following. If we diddnt get ravens the stallion’s hopefully would have stayed around.

[@Chrunops]

Sick channel name

[@K_low_7]

So glad to see my province shouted out would love a team in NS

[@worthlesss]

Bro thats great im a packers and bluebombers fan idk how i would feel

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

Rules and field lengths are not the only logistical complications making a speculative NFL-CFL merger a difficult endeavor, at-best. Probably the biggest complication of them all being scheduling, given how their seasons don't lineup well. The CFL essentially and effectively functions as a spring-summer league; while, the NFL operates thru the autumn and early winter months (with some late-summer play during its preseason and at the very beginning of its regular season). So, in order for such a merger to be realistic and viable, some kind of serious scheduling realignment would have to take place. 'Til then, similar to how the NFL-AFL merger was a years-long process, perhaps a hypothetical NFL-CFL merger could start out with the leagues continuing as normal, playing within their leagues only, and still adhering to their traditional season scheduling, with the only intraleague play occurring during a North American Pro Football Championship exhibition game between the respective winners of the NFL's Super Bowl and the CFL's Grey Cup of a given year. Then, depending upon how successfully-received among North American football fans such a championship game winds up being, little by little over a five to ten year period, scheduling would be realigned so that regular season intraleague play between US and Canadian franchises would be achievable. Once that process is completed, then the ultimate merger would be the first reconstituted interleague championship game played after a playoff wherein playoff-eligible teams from all of the reconstituted conferences would metriculate their way towards that Super-Super Bowl (or maybe Pro Football World Series?) -- becoming a perennial tradition, thereafter

[@MoveOnUpMusicEvan]

How would you model the playoffs?

[@o-townboyyow8703]

As a Canadian, no one up here would accept the CFL going to a four down format, extending the play clock or even altering the field size. Thus a merger between the two leagues would never happen. As far as the CFL possibly making another attempt at US expansion, most teams would likely be located in the northern states. Idaho, Montana, North/South Dakota, Connecticut or Maine. You can’t merge two leagues and have two sets of rules, field sizes and any of that other stuff. Also, you should have added in your video, when the season would start and when the Championship game would take place. Other than that good video.

[@vikramparmar8093]

It is a nice video and fun to think about the rules combo but I am sure there are posts in there that echo my sentiment: merging to two leagues mean Toronto and Vancouver and MAYBE Montreal join the NFL and the rest of the teams go defunct due to the markets being too small. I highly doubt the NFL wants this to happen. It would be bad for football to lose those teams.

[@JonnDuune]

What about the rule and field differences in the leagues?

[@MiguelLopez-wh6nw]

I literally made a NFL realignment that is 100% the same I post it on Facebook on a Sports Debate group like 3 years ago!! I’m kinda impressed that we both thought the same. I got so much hate for it though.

[@ad5232]

As a cowboys fan I’d love that division they’d be in for concept 2. Absolutely love playing the CA teams plus there’s history with the raiders and cardinals. And Denver is a good franchise too.

[@OKmoomer]

The American exposure, revenue levels and the massive TV contracts just wouldn't be there in Canada. I think people forget that the NHL works so well in two different countries because of two main things: 1) An overwhelming portion of Canadian citizens either like or love watching NHL hockey games, so the revenue levels and exposure are there anyways despite having roughly 10% of the American population numbers. 2) The US still produces much more revenue for the NHL than Canada does. Teams such as the Rangers, Blackhawks, Bruins, and Kings keep the NHL relevant in the American public eye, even though they are clearly much smaller in the US than the NBA/NFL/MLB teams. I'd even contest that if not for a company as big as Rogers owning them, the Blue Jays could have easily elected to relocate to an American market with lower tax implications, less convolution from having to conduct business on an international basis every year, and simply more chances to make money. I think these are the kind of things that prevent MLB from even having the thought of putting a new team in Vancouver or Montreal. Long story short, you're already struggling to keep people interested in the CFL and that's in spite of the fact that NFL players have come out and said that CFL players are pretty good in their own right -- we've also seen multiple cases of CFL players who went on to have successful careers in the NFL. So, really, I think we're ignoring the socioeconomic aspects of football in Canada, and namely how it's just not as interesting to many Canadians anymore. It's getting to the point where I think the Whitecaps are becoming more popular than the Lions in Vancouver, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's trending that way in Toronto and Montreal, as well. If you can't keep the public interest in the CFL as is, do you think the NFL would want to take a chance on all the hassle required to cross the border for games on top of everything else for some "small fry" up north?

[@Beatrizoliveira-qm1wn]

I liked the 2nd concept that add an team in Halifax,i will only add an european division:Dublin, Barcelona,London, Frankfurt, Belgrade,Athens and Bucharest total:49 teams

[@gordd7348]

I like the alignment idea, with a minor change where the Bill is in the same division as Detroit, Hamilton, and Toronto. The reason is history. Hamilton and Buffalo actually played against each other on August 8, 1961, with Hamilton defeating Buffalo 38-21.

[@grahamdamberger7130]

How you had the 2 west coast divisions in the first concept is what I would do with those cities' respective NHL clubs (after swapping out San Fransisco with San Jose) if I were to divide the NHL into divisions of 4.

[@EvanOrNBZ]

switch indy and Cleveland cuz the AFC North has to stay together. There is a long history with all of those teams and they have to stay together

[@xzop2688]

Maybe ya should have them vertical in time zones. Where they play mixed weather. How many games?

[@cstover8454]

Less knee injuries in CFL less head trauma as well so adopting their rules would be the best thing

[@MikoDarkblade]

I mostly dont like static divisions... I'd like the divisions to change every year based on records separated into 4 divisions of 8 teams (in a serpentine distribution...) where each team play with 2 game vs each team in their divisions for 14 games and then 1 games vs the equal power team from the other divisions (T1, T2, T3 and T4 would play each other T5, T6, T7 and T8, etc). Then you wouldn't have the same teams playing each other which is getting pretty tedious imo.

[@MrRicklynch57]

You would need a draft where NFL teams protect their top 15 players, but all other players can be drafted by the CFL. It will make for a very watered down NFL for many seasons.

[@TheQuinnr]

A combined league could deal with 2 Lions franchises. Those Rough Riders and Roughriders games were fun to watch.

[@seconduser1809]

CFL has a Canadian player quota - roughly half the players have to be Canadian. Would they give that up? if they did, after a few years almost all players would be American. If they didn't give it up, no team located in Canada would ever win a game. The US just has such a massively larger population that is football crazy meaning so much more and better football talent to draw upon.

[@a.true.raider924]

I Think it's a Awesome Concept; but, I would make one Change... Switch Cleveland & Indianapolis, there could never be Forgiveness for taking away "The Battle of Ohio" away from fans... Browns/Bengals is a Rivalry in it's own Right 💯

[@aidanwotherspoon905]

If BC and Detroit can coexist in this scenario, then you should know that the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders coexisted for decades and even met in several Grey Cups… because at thetime of the CFL’s merger, neither team could fairly be asked to change

[@sevendeep]

The idea of breaking up the Packers from the Bears and Browns from Steelers is hilarious

[@BrandanTheBroker]

While maybe not merging completely, I'd maybe love to see NFL, CFL, and whatever becomes of the UFL maybe schedule some games against each other as exhibition games.

[@dixonhill1108]

It'd be interesting if they had to play by Canadian rules, it'd even the playing field for what would otherwise be a very lop sided situation.

[@seen48]

That would be amazing merging the two. Even maybe merge the new UFL and CFL.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

CFL NFL merger just isn't realistic in the foreseeable future or even UFL unless one side wants to change rules a lot but I would love to see the UFL and CFL champs play a home-home series with one game in each ruleset 😂

[@seen48]

@@rocksandforestquiver959 hahah that would be funny for sure. Listen I think the CFL needs to switch to traditional NFL rules. At least make it 4 downs and move the goal posts to the back of the end zone, making that smaller as well. Keep the wider field, keep the 55 yard line. UFL has 8 team, CFL has 9 perfect merger for a Spring football league. I think t could work 17 teams to start and get to 20 by 2025….and keep expanding in US cities that already don’t have an NFL team. Get into Utah, Montana, Oregon, St Louis if they don’t already have one, New Mexico, Oaklahoma. Lots and lots of oppprtinity. I want to work for this new league and add new ventures, franchises etc.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@seen48 We don't want that tbh, CFL fans for the most part are perfectly happy being the CFL, and the rules of the game are absolutely integral to that. NFL rules aren't "Traditional" at all, they've probably been changed more than any other league. The UFL and the leagues that lead to it aren't better than the CFL, they're a gimmick. The CFL doesn't actually exist to be a feeder league for the NFL, despite what a lot of Americans seem to think, it's here because we have our own football tradition that's as long as yours, arguably longer considering we were playing Rugby pretty widely before it was popular in the states. Your football came from contact soccer basically.

[@user-yd7rg7ft7z]

Would it make the nfl into the NAFL which stands for North American football league

[@stuartrubin5730]

Merging the leagues is not practical. None of the stadiums in Canada meet the minimum standards that the NFL has set forth. Canadian stadiums are too small for one thing. The configuration of the playing fields are different, the rules and scoring are different and the current NFL team owners have no interest in splitting the broadcast revenue into more slices.

[@raderator]

When we annex Canada, we should merge the leagues. Switch from yards to meters. This will enlarge the field by 18% opening up the game. This should be part of a larger policy of imposing the metric system. Many fun things are possible with Nationalist rule.

[@kennypayton5103]

What about the field difference?

[@lukekupstas6806]

I think the most realistic option is to keep the two leagues separate and standardize the rules between the two leagues. the CFL could expand by five more teams to make it sixteen. Then there could be some sort of competition, maybe in the summer, between the best teams from both leagues. This also leaves room for a euro league and maybe even a south maerican league and pherhapls in the future we could have a sort of "Football World Cup". I know this Idea is rough and needs a lot to happen for it to pull off but I think that it is the best option for the future of the sport to expand. Would love to hear feed back on this because its been a strange idea floating around in my head for a while.

[@sportsmanlikemisconduct]

I think a football World Cup would be cool, it would most likely be dominated by the NFL, but cool nonetheless. As long as there were the corresponding leagues and available dates to do it

[@lukekupstas6806]

@@sportsmanlikemisconduct The NFL would definintly dominate at the start but I figure once other leauges get the feet set and start making money good players are bound to play there. For the dates maybe this event would take place ever four years and we would have a shortened regular season for placements within the world cup starts. Would take some time to get use to not playing for a super bowl every year, but honestly Id think a world cup could be more interesting.

[@ljevers]

the first major issue to overcome is the cfl essentially serves as a development league for the NFL, but they have to have 51% of their roster has to be Canadian....Canada simply doesn't have enough talent to grow the number of teams If the NFL was to go all in on cfl expansion, they would need to cut 2 to 4 teams One way to accomplish this would be to genuinely use the cfl as a D league, but have the lay out for 5 years after expansion, teams to move into NFL They could also expand into Mexico at the same time as their is a larger number of people to grow a fan base while also expanding into Europe 4 to 6 cfl teams 2 to 3 Mexico teams 3 to 4 Europe teams Use the CFL to develop players and fan bases then move them into the NFL as the cities respond to the sport

[@B-A-L]

​@@sportsmanlikemisconductThere already is a football World Cup!

[@bradybeijes3232]

My guess is it would be more like a CFL vs NFL all star game because getting everyone to agree to an extra game after grinding to the Superbowl/Grey Cup could be tough, CFL will probably be more players willing due to the opportunity to potentially get signed to a team/practice squad but for the NFL I see it being like the pro bowl where Superbowl teams and many others don't participate to avoid risking injury or unnecessary wear and tear, which would honestly make the game alot more competitive and be more entertaining then the current pro bowl

[@patj87]

Never. The CFL is its own beautiful/ugly thing. Any exposure is awesome. Thank you! People who are into American high school and college football should be fans of a different summer league that isn't something like the XFL and respectfully, Arena football. Sooo much history.

[@armymannick145]

interesting how the games would be laid out with a seven team division, if we allowed splits or sweeps thats 14 division games. if we saw anything similar to schedule expectations we'd no doubt have like 22 games

[@jakeetc7736]

For concept 2: Use conferences AFC and NFC for history reasons to be realistic. Southern East, Southern Central, and Northern East would be in the AFC. While Northern West, Southern West, and Northern Central would be in the NFC. To determine which divisions would be in each conference, whichever conference had more teams than the other in one division, that division would go to that conference. Northern East has more AFC teams than NFC teams, so its goes in the AFC. My divisions would be: AFC North-East AFC South-East AFC South-Central NFC South-West NFC North-West NFC NFC North-Central.

[@AnthonySpecialeJr]

Scheduling would be the reason why 7 team divisions wouldn't work (though, to be fair, 42 isn't a great number to divide by). 6 home & 6 away games vs division rivals = 12 games, with 5 remaining. Conveniently, one could do "6th place teams face all other 5th place teams", which is the logic used for 3/17 games in the NFL currently. You might just be stuck with the eye twitching 1st option, and hope there are 7 (or 6 + Atlantics) teams to get to the very divisible 48. (St. Louis should probably be one of these as well, and maybe steal some UFL teams with San Antonio, Memphis, Birmingham, and make new teams for... idk Portland, OR & Salt Lake City? Maybe Oklahoma?) Speaking of, the Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are legally bound to be in the same division (at least as of the 1990s-2000s), so stick the Steelers into the midwest division so that's the 5-team division.

[@elnet1]

The rules are different for one thing. This would be like taking the 10 best college teams and putting them in the NFL for example, and once again, college and pro rules are different.

[@cstick2664]

It would probably just be adding two Canadian divisions, one to each conference, and maybe they alternate a 5th member every year.

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

Adding the CFL as a “relegation league” could be interesting. Every season the two worst NFL teams move to the CFL, and vice versa for the two best CFL teams. Eventually when the leagues have mixed enough, you could combine them into one equal league. NFL owners would never agree to this though. The NFLPA either.

[@josephhouk6703]

Immediate issue: GTO would want to be in the same division as the Bills.

[@oilfan9445]

I love how the south central division has WUB in it

[@onknight]

It's an interesting idea but but I don't see Canadians willing to give up their larger field extra player and our motion rules are very different plus we have something called the waggle allowing receivers to run up to the line of scrimmage getting a full head of steam. Plus we have one more man on the field instead of 11:00 we have 12