CFL commissioner: 'Our most likely scenario is no season'

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The CFL is preparing to cancel the 2020 season due to the coronavirus and lobbied the Canadian federal government Thursday for financial aid to stay afloat.

"Our most likely scenario is no season at all," commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in front of the House of Commons, according to Sportsnet's Arash Madani.

Ambrosie asked the government for up to $120 million in assistance over the next two years, including $30 million this year. He said that without federal funding the league could struggle to withstand the financial impact of a lost season.

"I've never had more sleepless nights," Ambrosie said, according to TSN's Rick Westhead.

The CFL has already postponed training camps, which were scheduled to open in mid-May, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambrosie noted the CFL is operating off revenues generated in advance of the 2020 season, which the league will likely need to pay back once games - and possibly the season - are nixed.

"At that moment, our financial crisis will become very real and very big," he said, according to Dave Naylor of TSN.

"A ban on large gatherings means no revenue and no business for us," he added. "And we want to make sure it does not mean no CFL for the future."

Ambrosie told the House of Commons that collectively, the CFL's nine teams are losing between $10 million and $20 million per season. In arguing for financial help, he said the league provides the country with $1.2 billion in annual economic activity.