The Canadian Football League Players’ Association (CFLPA) is confident that the league will not enact any future rule changes without their prior consultation.
“We were informed about these changes but not consulted,” said CFLPA president Solomon Elimimian in Winnipeg. “That won’t happen again. We’ve had positive conversations with (commissioner) Stewart (Johnston) and the league about our expectations to be consulted on any future changes to our game. Rule adjustments can directly affect or fundamentally alter members’ jobs, and it’s important players’ perspectives are heard.”
In September, the CFL unveiled several rule changes that will be rolled out over the next two years. In 2026, team benches will be on opposite sides of the field, a 35-second play clock will be implemented, and the rouge will be modified. In 2027, the field and end zones will be shortened, and the uprights will be moved to the back of the end zones.
Though some players publicly criticized the rule changes — B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke, who was named the league’s M.O.P. on Thursday, called them “garbage” — the union doesn’t feel strongly about the incoming changes, only that they need to be consulted in the future.
“We weren’t consulted and that’s what we worked on,” said CFLPA executive director David Mackie. “We’re gonna have members that are outspoken and some that don’t have anything to say. They might love or hate the rule changes, but what matters is that we weren’t consulted, our voices weren’t heard, and that’s what we pursued.”
The league has a rules committee comprised of members from the league, all nine teams, and the CFLPA, which was not used as the vehicle for these recently announced changes. The players are hoping to dig into the details of the changes at the next meeting to learn more about how their membership will be affected.
“Our biggest issue is how (the rule changes are) actually going to be coached,” said Mackie. “The rules committee is important. All of these rules — there’s not one particular rule, they all flow together — and what’s important to us is that it has to go through the rules committee.”
“Is play-calling going to change, or are they just going to punt the ball? That’s where we just said, ‘Let’s go to the rules committee, it exists for a reason.’ If they’re trying to make changes outside of the rules committee, our voices have to be heard.”
“We only have two votes on the rules committee. They can sway it one way or another, but our perspectives are heard.”
Despite being left out in the lead-up to the CFL’s rule changes, the CFLPA believes its relationship with the league is improving, a sentiment Johnston also shared in his own address earlier on Friday.
“In terms of our relationship with the commissioner, I think it’s getting better. I think in the past, there’s a lot of things we learned the first time (when the public did). I think that Stewart is open to hearing our opinions and actually listening to our thoughts and how it concerns the players,” said Elimimian.
“With the rule changes, we had an issue with it. We went to Stewart, and it was addressed. We were assured that it won’t happen again.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (13-6) and Montreal Alouettes (12-8) will meet in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST.
The Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final by a score of 19-16, while the Roughriders came back to defeat the B.C. Lions in the West Final by a score of 24-21. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, though Montreal franchise quarterback Davis Alexander missed both games due to a hamstring injury.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of two degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally.
This marks the fifth time the Grey Cup will be played in Winnipeg and the second time it will be hosted at Princess Auto Stadium. The venue’s first Grey Cup was held in 2015 when the Edmonton Football Team defeated the Ottawa Redblacks by a score of 26-20, and Michael Reilly was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
