Would the Ottawa Redblacks bring Jeff Hunt back? The price could be right

Not only would Jeff Hunt return to his former role as president of the Ottawa Redblacks, he’s also willing to bet on himself.

Hunt, who has led Ottawa teams to championships in the Canadian Football League, the Canadian Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Canadian Premier League, is currently the owner of Ottawa Valley Meats.

The 62-year-old transplanted Newfoundlander has been out of sports since leading Atletico Ottawa to the CPL playoff title last November.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

“I loved my job with the Redblacks,” Hunt, the team’s president from its CFL inception until a disagreement over the club’s direction after its disappointing 2018 season, said when contacted at his TD Place condo on Tuesday. “We had a lot of fun. We had a lot of success. It was one of the best times of my life.

“I’d go back and I would even do the job for free. Just pay me $1 million if we win the Grey Cup in three years.”

That could still be a bargain for the Redblacks. Hunt’s annual salary was $450,000 when he left the team eight years ago.

Pro players “bet on themselves” when they try to better their contract with improved stats.

When was the last time one of them offered to play for free if the team doesn’t win a championship?

In Hunt’s 14 years as the sole owner of the Ottawa 67’s, they went to three Memorial Cups and won the title in 1999, when the national championship was held in the capital region.

The 67’s also played in front of record crowds at what was then the Civic Centre that only were exceeded by the NHL in North American hockey rinks.

In his five years as president of the Redblacks, the team went to the Grey Cup game three times, winning the coveted mug in just the team’s second year of existence.

During Hunt’s reign, TD Place — where today’s Redblacks are playing before an all-time low average crowd of just over 15,000 — was routinely sold out.

Atletico, one of the top soccer organizations in the world, only established a CPL team in Ottawa with the provision that it be run by Hunt, whose six-year run began in 2020, included a regular-season championship in 2022 and the city’s first-ever playoff title in 2025.