Jamie Nye: CFL agreement with NFL is a positive step

You may be critical of CFL officiating but you can’t say they aren’t at least trying to improve the product of the people wearing the stripes.

The CFL and the NFL have expanded their joint partnership to allow CFL officials take part in the NFL training program as well as officiate, while NFL officials will be in Canada ahead of the NFL season’s start working on their skills in the Canadian game.

They had this partnership last year and both sides thought it was a great training ground for a handful of officials on both sides of the border.

But allowing American officials to come up to the pros in Canada should be more common. They allow American players to take up over half the rosters in the CFL, so why not do the same with officials.

It at least opens up the pool of candidates for the CFL to work with and better competition could equate to a better officiating product. And I don’t think you’ll talk to many fans who wouldn’t want that.