Commissioner Randy Ambrosie Stepping Down After Grey Cup

In November, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie will hand off the Grey Cup for the final time.

Ambrosie made the surprising announcement Saturday that he’ll retire sometime in 2025. The 61-year-old Winnipeg native will formally step down once his successor has been found.

“I feel like I’m jumping out at a point where I’ve helped to take the league to a much better place,” Ambrosie told The Canadian Press. “I’m jumping out at a time when the foundation of the league is infinitely stronger than it was.

“Now, I get to turn it over to the next person and wish them well. I will be the biggest CFL cheerleader, which I feel I have been, and I get to continue that for many years to come. It just felt the right time for the league and for me to make this change.”

Ambrosie, who played nine seasons (1985-93) as an offensive lineman with Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton, became the league’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 is shocking, given last year during his annual Grey Cup address Ambrosie said he had no immediate plans to step down. Conventional thinking suggested Ambrosie would remain on the job at least through the ’26 season, when the league’s broadcast deals expired.

“It’s been almost seven-and-a-half years of seven days a week, sometimes feeling like 24 hours a day,” Ambrosie said. “I’d like to give some time back to (wife) Barb and the girls and really invest in my family.”

By retiring in 2025, Ambrosie said he’s giving his successor time to get acclimated with the job and prepare for negotiations on new TV deals. Once the new broadcast deals are signed, the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players’ Association can be reopened. 

But there’ve been signs of discontent. In September, Winnipeg president Wade Miller was critical of both Ambrosie and CFL after Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was forced to leave the club’s 35-33 Labour Day win over Saskatchewan with an apparent head injury.

According to a league source, the CFL board recently voted on Ambrosie’s stewardship. Although it’s unclear if the vote was in regards to extending Ambrosie’s contract or ending it, the source added it was a sign of unhappiness over lessening league distributions.

The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as the CFL hasn’t publicly announced the board vote. When asked if there was a vote, Ambrosie declined to comment.

CFL board chairman Scott Banda said while the search for Ambrosie’s successor will begin shortly, the league has time to establish the right process to find the best candidate.

“The beauty of what Randy has provided for the league is this opportunity to stay in the role until a replacement is found,” he said. “I think it (hiring new commissioner) will happen when it’s best to happen.

“The strength we have here is Randy’s willingness to remain as commissioner and continue with business as usual, which takes that whole pressure point away from the board.”

Ambrosie’s decision comes with the league and game in good shape.

The B.C. Lions (Amar Doman), Montreal Alouettes (Pierre Karl Peladeau) and Edmonton Elks (Larry Thompson) all now have solid ownership. The Toronto Argonauts, long a league attendance trouble spot, clinched second in the East Division with a 38-31 home win over Ottawa last week before a season-high gathering of 20,487.

(Canadian Press)