Who is Arland Bruce IV?
Arland Bruce IV played two seasons for the University of Iowa where he had 44 receptions for 396 yards and 2 TDs in 25 games, then enters the transfer portal and transfers to Oklahoma State. Not to shabby for a 5’ 10” 193 lb Wide Receiver. You might recognize the name; his dad made a good career in the CFL. Arland Bruce III played for Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal, and BC over 12 years and racked up a hall of fame career. 11,609 yards, 4 all-star selections, holds the record for the most reception in a single game at 16 and tops off the impressive resume with 2 Grey Cup rings. I would say this is a Hall of Fame career and it would be ridiculously hard to argue that point. Why Arland III is not in the CFL Hall of Fame is not a mystery. He sued the league in 2018 claiming he suffered from post concussion syndrome due to repeated hits to the head during his career. The lawsuit failed after reaching the Canadian Supreme Court.
Fast forward to present time, Arland Bruce III’s son, Arland Bruce IV, has a promising career going in college, so good that the Edmonton Elks come calling and sign Arland IV to a 2-year contract. I remember Arland III reaching out to me and how excited he was his son was going to play in the league he loved.
Earlier this week I got word that Arland Bruce IV’s contract was nullified by the CFL head office. I decided to try and find out why. Arland IV did have a run in with the law as a minor, while playing in Iowa. He entered a plea deal and was fined $600 for underage gambling. After a few more google searches, I found he bet on games he played in, using an older friend to make the bets for him. Not the smartest move a player trying to make a name for himself. He was charged and paid his $600 fine.
I reached out to the Edmonton Elks for comment on why their contract with Arland Bruce IV was nullified by the CFL and they replied with a nicely worded email saying no comment and referred me to the CFL. I emailed and called Lucas Barret the Director, Communications and Public Affairs for the CFL and have not heard back from him at this point.
On the Jan 19th edition of the Rod Pedersen Show, Rod verified that he had a conversation with Chris Jones, head coach of the Edmonton Elks and Jones verified that the contract was in fact nullified by CFL head office.
There is an official press release dated December 8, 2023 stating the Elks have signed Arland Bruce IV to a contract. We have Chris Jones confirming the contract was nullified on Jan 19th, 2024. In the span of less than 42 days someone at the CFL decided Arland Bruce IV is not eligible to play in the CFL. Who made this decision? What are the reasons for the decision? When was the decision made? You can not tell me that the Elks were not aware of Arland’s run in with the law, the had to know. The offered him a contract knowing he had this issue. The Elks had to have had conversations regarding it.
So, what is next for Arland Bruce IV? He has been granted a special eligibility into this years NFL draft. Looks like having his contract nullified by the CFL might just be what the doctor ordered for Arland Bruce IV.
As for Arland Bruce III, what is going to take to get him into the CFL Hall of Fame!!!! That is a whole different story that I will dig into another time.
We are Live Monday WITH Arland Bruce IV to go over the story from His Point of View! Don’t Miss Out!
