November 27th, 2005

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How Much Do CFL Players Make?

Julie asked me that question as I sit here watching some of the Grey Cup, the championship game of the Canadian Football League. I knew that their salaries were meagre compared to bigger professional leagues, but I wasn’t sure of specifics. TSN Magazine (it looks like that link is broken–TSN ought to know better) to the rescue:

Minimum salaries in the CFL this year are $30,000 for rookies and $32,000 for veterans. The minimum increases to $35,000 next year as a result of the CFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The average CFL salary is about $45,000 Canadian.

Starters, excluding quarterbacks, can command anywhere between $60,000 and $120,000, depending on their position. Quarterbacks are generally the highest-paid players, making between $150,000 and $300,000.

Later, the article discusses other jobs many CFL players take:

The effect of low salaries donned [sic] on me while I was interviewing Edmonton kicker Sean Fleming during practice at Commonwealth Stadium Wednesday. “I work full-time year-round at Price Waterhouse Coopers. I’ve done that for a year and a half. Before that, I was an investment advisor with National Bank Financial. So basically I’ve got one full-time job and this is my part-time job,” he said…

Before joining the CFL, Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray was delivering Frito Lay potato chips for $43,000 U.S. a year - more than he’s made in Edmonton this year. That’s just plain sad.

I don’t think it’s sad. I think it’s probably fair. These guys are being reasonably reimbursed for doing something that they love. The only sad part is that they couldn’t stick in a league that paid them more. I’m guessing the owners aren’t shafting them or anything–the league is simply small, and small-time.

On a related note, I see that the Black Eyed Peas’ corporate whoredom continues.

Comments: 37 Responses so far

Jen
November 28th, 2005
11:09 am

I remember a couple years ago the CFL had a really clever ad campaign going (in the days when I still watched commercials). Players were decked out in their full uniforms, performing tasks like mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, car-pooling, etc. The catch line was “these guys are just like you” or something like that… It was a nice appeal to the everyman .

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Mel
November 28th, 2005
4:47 pm

If only we could get NHL players to agree to salaries like that, I could actually go see a hockey game once in a while.

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Case
November 28th, 2005
8:58 pm

Ricky Ray is the highest paid player in the CFL this year with a salary of over $400,000. The article you cite is three years old.

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Lisa J
November 28th, 2005
9:25 pm

I may be the only person under 70 who feels this way, but I’m embarrassed by the Black Eyed Peas every time I hear “My Humps.”

Yech.

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Kavinay
November 29th, 2005
1:41 pm

To be honest, $60,000 to $120,000 is a pretty low figure when you consider that the majority of these players will spend their post-football years suffering from a multitude of severe and chronic injuries.

Basically, how much is worth the cost of a hip replacement and daily regime of pain killers by the time you’re 35?

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JR
May 12th, 2006
2:09 pm

They’re having fun playing Football to entertain a few peoples a few times a year and having free steroids.
60,000$ to 120,000$ a year is way enough.
Considering how the NFL and NHL players are paid this is a real joke and such a darn waste of money, they should invest this money in military purposes, and wherever needed in Canada.

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Rod
October 11th, 2006
11:44 pm

The bottom line is that we need people to support the league!
Watch the games, go to the games and show it.
Look at Sask. They continue to show support to a team that has not given them a lot to be happy about, but the entertainment value is extraordinary and they are true fans of the game.
If they had a bigger stadium they probably would gain more support.
We as Canadians need to recognize that this league needs more from us to prosper.
I am in a town in northern BC and the CFL fans a few and far between. They do not even care. I never realized how lame a lot of people can be. It is all Hockey.

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gary
October 28th, 2006
11:18 am

I was just trying to have a nice cheeseburger picnic here until you guys friged it all up you apple loving basketball fans

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chris
November 11th, 2006
10:11 pm

I love the CFL… yeah they don’t get nearly as much $$$ as other PROFESSIONAL teams, but the game tickets also aren’t nearly as much… I am a big CFL fan… I have this saying: An NFL game is like watching a CFL game in slow motion.

P.S I captitalized PROFESSIONAL, because I strongly believe that is just what the CFL is… the game and players (well the core group), is just as good as any other professional sports league out there.

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dan
November 17th, 2006
3:27 pm

60-120 sounds reasonable… but 35 sounds a bit low to me. Then again, sports do rely on fans to be successful. I don’t know too many people who go to Argos games… even when free tickets are offered. Football just isn’t as big as it is in the states. Not sure how hard it is to make it to the CFL but I wouldn’t think it would be easy hence they should get paid more. Although the league does consist of some NFL rejects.

Anyways what it comes down to is… there aren’t enough CFL fans.

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JOHN
November 23rd, 2006
3:26 pm

DAMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Patrick Randall
March 24th, 2007
5:08 pm

The problem I have with the CFL is how shabby the league treats Canadian players. A large number of great Canadian athletes are wasting their abilities playing football. The Americans which really run the teams will never give Canadians players their fair due. My advise to parents raising atheletic kids in Canada have the duty to direct them into hockey. It is the only spot that they will be given a decent appraisal. We should quit putting money and effort in high school and university football but replace with more opportunity for hockey.

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CFLman
July 9th, 2007
2:27 pm

I Am french, so please excuse my english.

Money is in the NFL but the show is in the CFL!

It’s as simple as that. Even John Madden in 2005 said that they are to many borring games in the NFL. Not a surprise that the NFL Europe closed. They played the same type of football then the NFL.

I see more and more americans sites awsking questions about the CFL. When they’re been asked about rhe CFL the fist thing that many comes to mind is: ‘it’s a more open game, more exiting’.

So Go alouettes go!

Et vive la CFL! Bonjours!

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CFLman
July 10th, 2007
4:42 am

MONEY IS IN THE NFL BUT THE SHOW IS IN THE CFL !
(L’argent se trouve dans la NFL mais le spectacle se trouve dans la CFL)

I’ve been saying that for years. It’s time that my english friends knowns about that truth. Don’t you thing so ? End I’m not the only one…

«I am American and I moved to Toronto about 6 years ago, from Florida.
I have found a real love for the CFL and for the Argos. Personally I think that NFL is way overhyped and when you watch it you think to yourself “That’s IT???”. Always expecting more and waiting for something spectacular, which never actually happens. The CFL is exciting football with exciting players.

In Toronto, there seems to be a lot of NFL fans. Their rationale is “Toronto is a world-class city, we deserve a world-class league.”

The fact is that the American media has over-hyped the NFL so much that even now Canadians think its a world-class league. They’re just wannabees who want to have something in common with Americans. Its ‘cool’ in Toronto to talk about the NFL, because there are no domestic teams and it shows that you’re “in” if you are knowledgable about the NFL. They wear NFL jerseys over CFL jerseys to show off. »

«- Think its pretty harsh to say that Canadians are unpatriotic because of the people who are NFL fans. The CFL is very popular in Canada, its 2nd to hockey. In Macleans magazine there was an article about how hockey is #1 in Canada, about 30% of canadians say that the CFL is their favourite sport with 13% being MLB and NFL. And i’m sure you’d get people who like the CFL and the NFL.

The fact is that the NFL is more accessable to watch. With there being so few teams in the CFL if you want to watch football, chances are you’ll have to watch the NFL since there are more options. I love the CFL, I think the game is much better then the NFL, its faster, its more fan friendly, and I prefer it to the NFL. But its not always on TV while the NFL is.

I say F U to those people, the CFL is a better league, with different, more exciting kinds of players. Too bad some Canadians are too stuck up to realize it. It puzzles me that Canadians would be so un-patriotic, as well. The CFL is the best professional league you have, and a damn good one.

If I were Canadian, I would much rather watch Toronto vs. Montreal, then Houston vs. Arizona, for example. And even though I am not, I still do prefer the former. Maybe a Canadian NFL fan would like to fill me in?» - USA/Canadian blog.

I’m not perfectly bilingual put if a french canadien can hunderstand what americans fans say about our football you should understand it too !

Go als Go !

VIVE la CFL !

Signed : CFLman

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USA Reply:
May 7th, 2009 at 6:00 am

I would have to disagree with you on some things, like how the NFL is boring. First off there is a reason the NFL is a multi billion dollar league, and the CFL is a multi million dollar league. The NFL has alot of exciting games just like the CFL does, and as far as being unpatriotic i think there being patriotic because who do u think ur economy, and freedoms rely on. Yes the USA!

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Jerry Kocjowsky
November 11th, 2007
5:28 pm

To the CFLman, you are okay with me. You are right too much hype about the NFL, I have seen too many Super Bores. And beside CFL’ers do not kill dogs. lol

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Bryn
November 12th, 2007
3:20 pm

As a Canadian NFL fan, here’s why I prefer the NFL to an obscene amount over the CFL.

I don’t understand this talk about CFL being faster. Because of the lack of skill (i.e. every good player being an NFL reject), and only three downs. What you have is a game of special teams, which is outrageously boring.

I live in Calgary, and have been to a few games. Each game, I’ve seen 6 running plays, 10 interceptions, and 80 punts.

I can’t stand Canadian rules. I hate that you can miss a field goal, yet still get a point.

Why would you ever punt?

Field goals can generally be kicked longer, and if they have to return it anyways, then what is the point of punting? You can a) still get a point out of it, and b) still give the other team bad field position, even though it was your team that wasn’t able to produce a fresh set of downs.

It’s exactly like the NHL (as much as I love hockey too) rewarding a team that loses 1 point, so long as they don’t lose throughout the normal 60 minutes of the game. It totally defeats the purpose, and the core idea of the game.

It’s not a question of patriotism, it’s a question of entertainment. I’ll loudly sing the national anthem, and say something to those that talk through it. I’ll drink my litres upon litres of beer. I’ll listen to Canadian music such as The Hip, The Guess Who, Rush, Bare Naked Ladies etc. I’ll tell people I’m Canadian and be proud of it when on a trip. I’ll watch hockey and root hard for the Canadian team. What I won’t do is watch punt after punt after punt after punt, purely because I’m supporting my country’s league.

I once was renting out my house, and a CFL player came to look at it. He asked if I get traded, what are the cancellation fees like? I thought that it was very sad that they have to think about that.

This is their choice, and I shouldn’t have to be called un-patriotic just because I don’t like watching a lesser league, with lesser rules, and lesser players.

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CFLman
December 7th, 2007
5:22 pm

Jarett Payton whom played in the NFL was surprise how fast was the CFL and finds it hard to adapt to the league. It is a much wider field but it is hard to have success in rushing. Why, because of the defense mobility, ask Ricky Williams. «Because of the lack of skill (i.e. every good player being an NFL reject» You forget that many former NFL players don’t make it in the CFL. If it was the lack of skill, former NFL players would have been stars in the CFL but it is not the case. It is more the lack of high or weigh. That’s why a very talented player like Charles Roberts plays in the CFL; because he is too small, he never had a chance in the NFL. Keton Keith a former CFL player now plays in the NFL, lack of skill???

Many can’t stand the NFL rules in the tiny football field.

« I live in Calgary, and have been to a few games. Each game, I’ve seen 6 running plays, 10 interceptions, and 80 punts. » Games with lots of interceptions you see them in NFL too. You prefer running game? well NFL it’s for you. Most of the tine two yards at a time… So you most have loved the London NFL game 13 to 10 or the Miami Pittsburg game 3-0. The NFL ruling served you good… But for others, it is not that kind of show they want to see.

Signed: CFLman

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USA Reply:
May 7th, 2009 at 6:11 am

WOW so Keton Keith was a star in the CFL, yet he got cut by the Jets, and had one 100 yard game with the colt and then was cut. If this is the best the CFL offers I would definitely say lack of talent. If Reggie Bush or Adrian Peterson went to the CFL, they would clean up because the defense isnt half as skilled as the NFL, and they would go from making 7 million a year to 150,000 lol

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saskatchewan man
January 9th, 2008
2:48 pm

wow that is not alot you try hard to win a grey cup and you do but get a sucky pay mount its stupid i live in manitoba but i am all about the saskatchewan roughriders.NFL players get so much more $$$ but they do the same thing as the CFL players sucks right

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Foobert
January 24th, 2008
4:19 am

Test-o-rama

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jay born
January 28th, 2008
3:48 pm

I know two cfl players personally and have met on many occasions with them and some of there friends from the nfl(former and present) if you sit down with them and ask in terms of skill between the league there is no difference. This is from there mouths….”they are both pro leagues. Lots of times a player dosent make a roster not because there not good enough but because the need for that specific position isnt needed. as one present nfl qb said the cfl has football players and the nfl has football players.”

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dave
February 17th, 2008
10:58 am

I am dissapointed the CFL has lost so much interest.I remember grey cup 1983 when the CFL was more interesting than hockey.So much hoopla,people dancing on the street,etc.After that year it was all downhill for the league.I wish to see that same level of excitement back to the league some day.

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Calvin
April 4th, 2008
7:23 am

Nice article. Stop feeling sorry for football players that dont make the big dollars just because they will have medical problems later. We know the risk from the first time we have our bell rung when were like 12 years old THIS SPORT HURTS PEOPLE. Im a former player that didnt make the big money and if you dont want the health problems do something else.

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dash
May 20th, 2008
4:33 pm

“Field goals can generally be kicked longer, and if they have to return it anyways, then what is the point of punting? You can a) still get a point out of it, and b) still give the other team bad field position, even though it was your team that wasn’t able to produce a fresh set of down.”

Bryn
If you took the effort to learn a little bit about the rules that you are attacking then you would realize that the single point is only awarded if a missed field goal is kicked through the endzone and out of play.

Since you’re saying that the CFL is just a boring special teams game (i disagree with that statement) i’ll point out a few reasons why CFL special tems play is better than NFL special teams play. A) No fair catch. B) A Punt must be returned, you may not let the ball roll around until the kicking team recovers it. C) A punt or missed field goal that is caught in the endzone must be returned or the kicking team recieves a point.

Those are the three reason why i love CFL speacial teams and am left feeling robbed of action when the NFL field goal/punt teams take the field.

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cfl
July 18th, 2008
4:33 pm

lets all remeber that CFL players only work 6 months of the year, so makin even 30 grand in 6 months is plenty, considering most players work in the off season.

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Felix
July 19th, 2008
5:53 am

NFL player practice squad players make the average amount of a CFL starter, excluding quarterbacks. But practice squad is like an on call you can be on a team’s squad for a week, the next your fired, and then your back like 3 weeks later, only to be fired about 4 weeks later, it’s inconsistent.

minimum wage for an NFL kicker is like 300, 000, as much as a CFL starting QB.

Canada does not have a big economy that’s why the get paid low. The CFL is a great league, it’s second to the NFL before AFL. It is. It’s just that the economy. Canada can’t even afford to have a team in the country’s capital city.

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Nas
July 19th, 2008
11:30 pm

Yes. Compared to other big leagues, CFL players are paid way, way, way lesser. And for rookies… what if you were a rookie and you broke your hip during a game or practise. There goes most of your money ($30,000) trying to fix your hip. But I still love the CFL and a whole lot funner to watch then the NFL. By the way, its sucks there is no CFL games… only fricken NFL games.

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adam Reply:
January 16th, 2009 at 8:45 am

you might want to take a look at the health policies in Canada, which are much different than in the US. we have this thing called PUBLIC HEALTH CARE, which means you don’t pay to go to the hospital. A procedure that costs $50,000 in the US, costs about $50 here for the ambulance ride.

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yayabeeets
July 26th, 2008
11:00 am

I love the cfl
i mean its obvious they dont have as much skill as nfl players
but theyre determined.

goooo Argoss

and their pay is enough to work on the mortgage ,cloth the kids and eat food..
and thats all you need in lifee.

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Coates
September 13th, 2008
5:59 pm

What’s all this talk about their wage and breaking body parts. This is Canada, we have health care here, it doesn’t cost us 50,000 dollars to spend one night in the hospital. I agree that the wages are a little low, but it shows that these guys love football, not just money. If they don’t like the wages what other choice do they have if they want to play football, arena league, lol.

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Reid
September 15th, 2008
8:45 pm

I play highschool football in calgary,
My coach used to play for the toronto argonauts
The reason why most of the CFL players play is because they enjoy the game.
Many come back after their careers and help coach cfl teams, university teams and highschool teams alike. The CFL is based more towards the people who enjoy the sport and are fine doing it without getting payed seven or even six digit paychecks.

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bobby joe
October 16th, 2008
11:44 am

The cfl players are getting ripped off because they doing somithing they love but they should be paid more but thats one mans oppinion

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Ricky Bobby
October 16th, 2008
11:58 am

I say that the NFL players and CFL players are much different. The NFL players play on a smaller feild but should be allowed to play on bigger feilds. CFL players play with a bigger ball so what are they saying. That NFL players cant handle a bigger ball. Well i guess that work with what we get

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Joe Mama
November 26th, 2008
2:37 pm

While CFL players in the same league as the NFL but it’s a damn sight better then say, arena football whose players make (dollar adjusted) very similar amounts. CFL players are underpaid, period, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the football. It’s a different game alltogether and to be honest, many NFL players would suck badly in the CFL. Espeically teams that push the run all day. Don’t compare apples and oranges Mr. Author - it only fuels the fire that many Americans are just plain clueless about anything other than homecooking.

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LUM
June 7th, 2009
8:39 am

“CFL players are underpaid, period, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the football”

-It has dop do with the support of Canadian football and the sponsors, and fans who support the league. It is not high. For that reason alone, sponsors are not as interested.

Why do you think the American teams (ie - Las Vegas) that were CFL squads failed? No American interest. Mutiple motions, points for punts OB, wider field, etc.

It doe not generate excitement. I do think it is entertaining, but no where CLOSE to the atheletes in the NFL. Put it this way…..

Ask an NFL athelete iof he would rather play in the NFL, or CFL. The answer is OBVIOUS. Ask that same player if the CFL is comprable to the NFL with regard to talent. The answer is OBVIOUS. Ask that SAME player (when/if he is cut) and merges to Canada if the talent is the same. The answer will be different. Why?

Pride. Professional athletes will NEVER admit to being inferior to anyone. Soas…admitting that YOUR league (CFL) is inferior to the NFL…is admitting that YOU are an inferior athelete as you could not make it in teh NFL.

Ask yourself, how many times do we see professional athletes trying to keep their careers alive when they are obviously past their prime? (ie - Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Joe Namath, OJ Simpson, etc). Athletes must be FORCED out.

Even the greats. So the lame duck argument that “CFL players who played in the NFL say they are surprised and that CFL ball is just as good?” —-> lame duck argument to save face in that you cannot get an NFL gig.

And The game is differnt in Canada. Why else would Kenton Keith rush for -2 yards vs the Houston Texas, 5 yards vs New England, 121 vs Tampa Bay (70 yards in the 2nd half….most in the 4th quarter)…yet in Canada he ran wild as a West Divison All Star?

The wider field, fewer downs make Canada a passers league. Yet, the RB’s in that league will never be the Ricky Williams type because bull runners are not typically a stead in a league with so much field, a fewer down, an extra player…and multiple motion.

And if Canadian Ball was really THAT good….tell me….why do not these Canadian shools play American D-1 schools? They can’t. Many of these that do play American schools play a D-3 American team because it is the level with which they are comprable.

“it only fuels the fire that many Americans are just plain clueless about anything other than homecooking”

If Americans are “clueless” why are the best players in the CFL “imports”? And imports that were former NFL players (Kerry Joseph who was an NFL saftey…now CFL All Star QB, or Ricky Ray who could not get a sniff with the Jets, Charles Roberts (Rays college teammate at Sac St) who was deemed too small and did not perform well in post season college all star games vs future NFL draft picks. Roberts is better for the CFL, whereas his quickness on a wider field is an asset.

Remember, the NFL and CFL used to have an annual game. This was looong ago. the CFL won the last game. But with the development of American football…the Americans that dont make it in teh NFL that star in Canada….yet not many Canadians ever transition well to the NFL….makes it clear that the speed and brute force of the American game make it highly desirable.

Otherwise you would not be watching the Superbowl each year in your native Canada.

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LUM
June 7th, 2009
9:06 am

And believe it…..the CFL will save face when it needs to also. Why else would the league implement a rule barring any player on suspension from the NFL after the Ricky Williams “rental” did not work?

And believe it, the CFL knows it is an inferior league. The reason you do not see CFL’ers become stars in the NFL.

Yet….the list is long for nFL’ers who became stars in the CFL. Even unknown NFL players.
CFL’ers in NFL
Mark Boerigter (CFL All Star)- Hastings Coll (NCAA D-3) - Calgary, Kansas City (cut after major knee injury…could not get another NFL job though he worked out for several NFL clubs including the Chiefs, Packers, and Jags) - back to Calgary

Kenton Keith (CFL All Star)- Sask - Jets (cut) - Sask - Colts (one year) - now in Hamilton

Michael Jenkins (CFL All Star) - Toronto - Houston (reserve, and special teams) - back to Toronto…no longer playing.

NFL’ers in CFL
Jarrett Payton - Tennessee (on and off practice squad…then cut after 2 seasons) - now in Toronto, not after rushing for nearly 900 in 13 games 2 seasons ago.

Ricky Ray - Jets, Edmonton, Jets…..Edmonton
Casey Printers

You get the picture. The NFL players you have heard of. The CFL’ers, not so much.

As for a CFL’er in teh NFL…your only hope was Jesse Lumsden. The grate Joe Gibbs said it himself, in that he couldn’t keep Lumsden because he was “hurt too much”.

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