Earlier this week, the CFL released the official results of its 2009 Salary Management System audit. Only one club, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, violated the league’s $4.2-million expenditure limit.

According to the CFL’s figures, the Bombers exceeded the cap by $44,687. Under the terms of the SMS, the team now has to pay a dollar-for-dollar fine for that amount by way of penalty for spending beyond the limit.

Considering the amount of change ushered in during Mike Kelly’s reign in Winnipeg, especially in terms of player turnover, it’s hardly shocking that the Bombers overspent in 2009.

Granted, some of the blame rests at the feet of the club’s previous management for paying hefty off-season bonuses to players like OT Dan Goodspeed, who wound up being traded. But there’s still plenty of blame left to spread around.

Whether it’s paying out a $40,000 bonus to RB Joe Smith and then cutting him, ponying up big money to Derick Armstrong and then running the all-star off after one game, or bringing in hired gun Michael Bishop to make a bad QB situation less bad, Mike Kelly managed Big Blue’s 2009 roster a lot like he managed the media. And that ain’t good.

Photo by Mats G., on Flickr

To state the fact of the matter, things could’ve been a lot worse in the Peg.

Add the classless $60,000 pay cut they forced on Kelly’s hand-picked pivot, Stefan LeFors, and the tens of thousands of dollars saved by stashing players like Kelly Bates, Arjei Franklin, and even Barrin Simpson (for a short while) on the nine-game injury list, and the Bombers would have been looking at draft sanctions and a doubled fine right about now.

Couple this latest SMS black eye with the reported $1.2-million losses the Blue Bombers experienced last year, and 2009 has to go down as “the year that just keeps taking” for Bombers fans.

To look on the bright side, though, no matter how you take it, this latest bit of bad news definitely puts a cap on the 2009 season in Bomberville.

There’s a new sheriff in town in Paul LaPolice, a new management team in the front office, plans for a new state of the art stadium, a new set of QBs to right the wrongs of last year (maybe even one named Pierce!), and plenty of renewed hope for 2010.