Wally Buono says new professional football leagues in the United States could keep players released by NFL teams from coming to the Canadian league.

“Honestly, I don’t particularly think that the NFL cuts are just going to run up to the CFL. That’s something that’s happened in the past, I don’t know that this year it’s going to be as common because in the states there are two spring leagues coming up,” Buono said on TSN radio in Vancouver.

The new American Alliance of Football league will kick off its inaugural season the week after the Super Bowl and has a TV contract with CBS. Each player will be signed to three-year contracts with a minimum base gross salary of $250,000 USD over three years and the chance to earn more. They will also have the ability to try the NFL while still under contract in addition to post-secondary education assistance as well as health and wellness benefits. Meanwhile, the Xtreme Football League has been resurrected by Vince McMahon, aiming to open play in 2020.

“I know the players are talking about it, I know that this is an option for them. So I don’t see the CFL as being an easy sell to these guys who are coming from the NFL,” Buono said. We might get a player or two from the NFL but I don’t see a mass exodus.”