The confetti has been swept up, the champagne bottles thrown out and now, the real world is calling for Travis Lulay.

He understands this, understands it’s time to get back to work and his priorities are not confused. On this day, barely two months after the B.C. Lions’ momentous Grey Cup triumph, he’s in the office of offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine looking at game film.

This, along with workouts in nearby Langley with teammates Rolly Lumbala, Shawn Gore and Jerome Dennis, is his new reality. It’s a far cry from the trophies, the awards and a jam-packed BC Place and a far cry from a breakout season which has brought him to a life-altering decision.

But, for a football player, it’s also the return to the familiar ritual of preparing for a new season and, given everything that’s going on around Lulay, that’s a good place to be.

“It goes so fast,” he said, shaking his head at the Lions’ practice facility. “You’re so consumed by everything and you’re living in such a small world. So it takes time to sink in.

“And even a week later, it felt like, ‘This is it? We really did it?’ You work so hard for that moment, then it’s gone.”

But other considerations remain and while Lulay isn’t exactly an open book on the subject, it’s hard to talk to him about the upcoming season without bringing up the elephant in the room.

The Lions’ quarterback, who carted off everything short of the Nobel Prize in physics in 2011, is entering the last year of his contract with the CFL club and that situation creates a fair bit of intrigue. In one season, Lulay became the face of the franchise; the team leader, its conscience and its best player. At 28, he’s also in the prime of his career and there’s every reason to believe both he and the team are on the verge of a golden age of Lions’ football.

It’s all right there for the player and the team and all he has to do is name his price, then sign. It’s that simple, except, of course, it’s never that simple in the business of the game.

“Any time you’re making a long-term decision, it takes a lot of thought and consideration,” Lulay said. “It’s not because one thing is better than another. It’s just a matter of due process.

“The decision made at this point is going to change the next couple of years of your life. I’m saying before we sit down and iron out what we want to do, everybody has to be 100 per cent comfortable with moving forward. No decision has been made.”

Which leaves us to read the signs around Lulay. And that’s where things get interesting.

The NFL and everything it promises is a factor in this process but it’s not the only one. The Montana State product, for starters, has moved to the lower mainland year-round with his wife Kim. True, he’s renting in south Surrey but he wanted to be here to work full-time with Chapdelaine and make appearances in the community.

So there’s that.

Without much prompting, Lulay will also reveal his affection for the lower mainland. Both he and Kim are from Oregon which means family is close by.

“I don’t know if it would be same to me to stay in Hamilton,” he says.

And finally, he’s aware of the opportunity the Lions have created.

“This franchise has never won two in a row and that’s a big thing,” said Lulay. “We set a standard for what we want to be as a team. The new challenge is to back that up. That’s the next step. That’s the motivation.”

When asked if there was anything that could happen between now and the end of next season which would dissuade him from signing with the Lions, he said: “No. There’s nothing that would make me uncomfortable. I love it here.”

Which might not strengthen his bargaining position but the Lions also know what the young man means to their franchise.

As luck would have it, general manager Wally Buono is currently at league meetings in Florida and will return next week. It’s expected he’ll sit down with Lulay at that point and attempt to iron out a new deal; a contract that would solidify a lot of things for both the Lions and their leader.