Canada Soccer has successfully reworked its controversial rights deal with Canadian Soccer Business, with the new 12-year agreement offering a massive financial boost for the governing body.
CEO Kevin Blue projects Canada Soccer will earn “well over $100 million” more in net revenue over the length of the contract than what the existing deal offered, with much of the growth compounding in the middle and latter years of the agreement.
Shrouded in secrecy, the existing rights deal with CSB — which rebranded Thursday as Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment (CSME) — was decried by players and politicians alike. The players had complained that the deal was unfair, holding both them and the game back.
The new agreement was released Friday essentially in full, covering 31 pages with only a few redactions.
The deal runs Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2037, with a mutual option for a five-year extension at its conclusion. There are so-called “look-in periods” every three years to review terms “to ensure ongoing fair market value alignment.”
There are three revenue-sharing streams:
— Under the deal, the two parties will split the first $10 million of adjusted gross revenue annually, with Canada Soccer’s relative share growing substantially as total revenue increases. Canada Soccer will get a 70 per cent share at $22.5 million of gross revenue and above.
— There is also a stipulation for either an additional payment of $19.5 million, paid in two lump sums at various points during the deal, or a revision so Canada Soccer receives 70 percent of all adjusted gross revenue starting Jan. 1, 2029.
— There is a minimum annual guarantee built into the deal as a safety net, although Canada Soccer does not expect it to come into play.
Incremental revenues generated will be “primarily reinvested into senior and youth national team programs, coaching, referee development, and grassroots and community soccer initiatives.”
The new deal includes a commitment to “wide broadcast distribution” of all senior national team matches played at home as well as international matches in “Canada-friendly” time zones. Equal exposure of the men’s and women’s teams is a “guiding principle.”
“We’re excited that more Canadians will be able to access both the men’s and women’s national teams on a regular basis,” said Blue.
And it comes with a joint governance structure involving senior leadership from both organizations.
The partnership has been expanded to cover Canada Soccer’s licensing activity, now included alongside sponsorship and media rights.
James Johnson, Group CEO of Canadian Soccer Media & Entertainment, called the new agreement “a win-win,” given it contains a broader package of rights that can be better monetized.
“It’s a very balanced deal. It’s good for the governing body. It’s good for us. And it’s ultimately good for the players and the fans,” he said.
The agreement is constructed so both Canada Soccer and CSME are “incentivized to work together to drive revenue,” he added.
CSB essentially markets Canada’s soccer product, on the field and off. In return, it paid Canada Soccer a set annual fee. Critics argued that the amount was far too little.
CSB’s launch was announced in March 2018, billed as “a new sports enterprise representing commercial assets and inventory for marquee soccer properties in Canada.”
The original 10-year deal with Canada Soccer gave CSB, whose investor group and board include the Canadian Premier League owners, authority to look after marketing and broadcast rights for both Canada Soccer and the CPL, which was about to debut.
In return, sources said Canada Soccer received $4 million a year as “the beneficiary of a rights fee guarantee,” an amount boosted by some $500,000 each year leading up to this summer’s World Cup.
David Clanachan, then CPL commissioner and CSB chairman, called the original deal “a coming of age for soccer in Canada” that would “help transform the sport in our country.”
While the CBS never revealed how much it paid Canada Soccer under the original deal, former CSB CEO Mark Noonan said the annual guarantee was “three times what Canada Soccer was making commercially back in 2018 when nobody was willing to take a risk.”
At the time of the original deal, the Canadian men were ranked 90th in the world, just above El Salvador, Lebanon and Congo.
Today, the men are No. 29 and headed to their second straight World Cup.
The new deal should pave the way for labour peace with the men’s and women’s national teams.
Canada Soccer has already struck framework labour agreements with both national teams, including compensation for the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups. But both were pending a revamped CSB relationship.
The women’s previous labour deal expired at the end of 2021. While they were the first to reach an interim labour agreement with Canada Soccer, that deal was tied to the men’s negotiations, given the pay equity provisions of the deal.
The Canadian Soccer Players Association, formed by the Canadian women in 2016, turned up the heat by filing a $40-million lawsuit against 15 current and former board members of Canada Soccer, alleging “negligence and breach of fiduciary duty” over the CSB contract.
The men are negotiating their first formal agreement after forming the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association in the summer of 2022.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
