The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have to continue waiting for Canadian offensive lineman Liam Dobson.
The six-foot-three, 330-pound offensive lineman was selected in the 23rd round of the USFL draft Wednesday by the New Orleans Breakers. Why that's significant for Winnipeg is Dobson had to first sign a contract with the American league in order to be eligible to be drafted.
Dobson's deal is for one year but also contains a team option for 2023. The Bombers selected Dobson in the first round, No. 3 overall, of the 2021 CFL draft after he'd opted to transfer from Maine to Texas State University.
The Bobcats finished 3-5 within the Sun Belt Conference last season and 4-8 overall.
Dobson started all 12 games at two different positions for Texas State. He opened the season at right tackle, then moved to left guard before returning to right tackle for the final two games.
Dobson was named an Honourable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference pick.
In 2019, Dobson was Maine's highest graded blocker and voted its top offensive lineman after starting all 12 games and averaging 12 knockdowns per contest. On July 17, 2020, the Colonial Athletic Association announced it would not play fall sports _ including football _ due to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead staged a spring conference schedule in 2021.
By signing with and being drafted by a USFL team, Dobson will have to spend the next two seasons with the league, unless he's released. Dobson could also leave the USFL if he's signed by an NFL squad as USFL contracts allow players to sign NFL deals.
The eight USFL teams will each play 10 games. The schedule is slated to begin April 16 and conclude July 3, well before the start of NFL training camps.
Dobson certainly won't get rich playing in the USFL, where players will earn roughly US$50,000. Ironically, Dobson stood to make more in Winnipeg, where he could've earned as much as $80,000, or US$62,804, plus playoff bonuses.
As the third-overall pick, Dobson could've negotiated a deal that included a $65,000 base salary, $7,500 housing allowance and $7,500 playing-time bonus.
But Dobson would've had to play substantially more games _ Canadian teams will have an 18-game regular season in 2022 _ and as a CFL rookie, would have to sign a three-year deal (two plus an option). Also, if he was injured playing football in Canada, Dobson wouldn't be covered by workers' compensation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2022.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press