The defection of Greg Mohns from Canadian football certainly shouldn't be taken by itself as a sign that The End is near.

He was on the verge of being fired as coach of the British Columbia Lions in any case, and before accepting that job he was a personnel guy like so many others, adept at spotting the overlooked, bargain-basement players who are the foundation of every CFL team. Now, he'll be doing the same kind of job for Vince McMahon's XFL, which will be built on the same, sub-National Football League talent.

Another Mohns will come along, and other players will take the place of those who decide to suit up for the XFL in the spring. U.S. colleges produce 4,000 of them a year, which suggests there are many fish in the sea.

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That said, complacency regarding the new kids in the gridiron business would be a huge mistake right now if the CFL is to ride through this the way it rode through the comings and goings of the World Football League and the United States Football League in the past. There can be no more pretending that this one just isn't going to happen, or that its effects won't be felt on this side of the border.

Never mind the marketing, never mind the hype, never mind whether you can take a wrestling approach to a real, live, unscripted sport and make it work. Just consider the numbers.

The XFL will pay its players a minimum salary in the neighbourhood of $50,000 (U.S.), all of its teams will be located in the United States.

Its games will be broadcast by NBC, no doubt with a certain amount of fanfare.

The CFL pays its players a minimum salary of $28,000 (Cdn.), with an average salary somewhere in the vicinity of $40,000. Only the league's relative superstars can command a six-figure paycheque. All of its teams are located in Canada. None of its games are broadcast by a major U.S. network.

If one were an American, and one were talented enough to become a minor-league professional football player -- even one with aspirations to someday make the NFL -- the choice would be relatively simple. Stay at home, play where your family and friends can watch, get big-time television exposure, and make at least a little more money in the process.

Whether the XFL will be willing to pay even more to lure away the CFL's highest paid players remains to be seen. They might well not bother to invest in a Mike Pringle or a Danny McManus, figuring they can develop their own. But there is certain to be an exodus of foot soldiers -- and of coaching and managerial talent, for all of the same reasons.

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The CFL's choices in responding to that challenge are extremely limited -- which is why, when McMahon came along and offered to essentially buy the league outright, some owners were very willing to consider the proposal.

It can raise salaries to match those being paid by the XFL, which would cause an unpleasant ripple effect in a league where, despite the relative good times of the past three years, no one is making any money.

Or it can watch its talent base erode, forced to find replacements from among those who now would be training camp cuts.

Easy enough to say that the supply of players is so vast that the consumers wouldn't even notice. But take a look at current CFL rosters. Check out how many relatively high-priced veterans manage to retain their jobs, year after year, despite the fact that they could be replaced by cheaper bodies from the annual crop. A Calvin Tiggle, or a Dave Dickenson, or an Alondra Johnson isn't expendable, at least not without considerably weakening the product, which fans would surely notice.

Now add in the marketing, add in the hype, add in the fact that McMahon, if nothing else, understands how to produce television programming, beating Monday Night Football in the ratings every week with his own Monday Night Raw.

The more tuned-in members of the CFL establishment understood that they were being presented with an impossible choice when Vince came calling: sell out the game now, or try to hang on against a competitor with huge financial backing, and with a cutthroat streak when it comes to doing business. Neither option was pleasant, and neither could be discounted.

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Mohns' departure, while a mere blip in the big picture, still should send a message. They're coming. This is not just going to fade away.

Every player, every coach, every general manager in the CFL right now is quietly assessing his options, discreetly making inquiries.

Even if the XFL blows up in a year or two -- and don't bet that it will -- the landscape of Canadian football will have changed for the worse. Stephen Brunt via e-mail: