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Earlier this week, the CFL released the results of its fourth annual audit of club salary spending.

Seven of the league’s eight franchises were found to be in accordance with the $4.25 million spending limit imposed by its Salary Management System.

According to the league’s official release, only the Saskatchewan Roughriders exceeded the 2010 spending limit, busting the cap by $26,677, which means Gang Green has been in violation of the league’s spending strictures three out of the four regulated years.

After the 2007 season, the CFL’s first SMS audit revealed two clubs went over the cap—the Montreal Alouettes, whose $108,285 overage cost the team $116,570 and the fourth overall pick in the draft, and the Roughriders, who overspent by $76,552.

Following the 2008 season, the CFL’s audit found the Riders $87,147 over the SMS limit.

In fact, 2009 was the only season Saskatchewan failed to exceed the league’s spending limit. With the club’s track record so far, however, I’m sure that failure wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

Overall, I’d have to say five infractions in the first four years of an imposed salary system is an excellent compliance rate for the league’s GMs. Especially considering some the CFL owners’ histories of spending and dealing.

The penalties imposed by the main office seem to have had a positive effect down the line, too.

Double the money spent over $100K and the loss of a first-round certainly put the Alouettes on the straight and narrow in ’08. And a dollar-for-dollar, $44,687 fine was more than enough to make the Blue Bombers snap to after 2009.

The Roughriders, though, have been repeat offenders. And I have to admit it bothers me that Saskatchewan has continued to overspend year after year.

Granted, in 2007 Gang Green was beset with an unusual, almost cruel, number of injuries on their way to a Grey Cup championship.

It would be hard to begrudge the club for shooting past the SMS limits then. The money simply had to be spent to field a competitive team. And you almost have to award the mulligan for failure to comply with a brand-new system.

I can’t cut the Riders that same slack in 2008 and 2010.

Yes, the team has suffered a slough of injuries. Ghastly, costly, high-profile injuries to be sure. But the bulk of Saskatchewan’s bumps and bruises have landed players on the nine-week list. And those monies are exempt from spending limits.

As Commissioner Cohon has put it in the past, “"In terms of injured players on the nine-game reserve list, they (the Roughriders) were the highest, but those aren't counted. This really wasn't about injuries."

So what was it about? An inability to follow the rules? A willing disregard for the strictures imposed? An absurd need to overpay veteran players?

Take your pick. It’s still recidivism. And it deserves to be punished over and above the penalty for the first offense.

No way Montreal deserved to lose double its money over the limit and a high pick for a first offense, while Saskatchewan gets off with a dollar-for-dollar fine three out of four years when they clearly KNEW the rules and CHOSE not to follow them. Repeatedly.

If you take Riders’ GM Brendan Taman at his word, the team is doing its best to figure out salary management.

“Going over the cap isn't something we take a lot of pride in,'' Taman said. "It's not something we want to do. It happened, and it's something we don't want to have happen again. It's a challenging thing to manage, but other teams have been able to do it, so we just need to try to get it done.''

That’s nice and all. But if the team’s winning percentage over the last four seasons matched its percentage following CFL expenditure rules (.25), there would be dire consequences throughout the organization, I’m sure.

Status quo punishment from the league office just isn’t serious enough to rectify Saskatchewan’s lack of compliance. And that’s simply unfair and disrespectful to the league’s seven other clubs who’ve managed to learn from their mistakes.

In my book, the league’s cost certainty policy should cost repeat offenders just a little bit more, and then they might learn how to play fair.