Inside the CFL: Unsolicited change in the CFL, for whose sake?

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on October 2, 2025.

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f it ain’t broke…”

Even an old stubble jumper like me had a warm, fuzzy feeling when a valiant herd of Edmonton Elks hung on to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Saturday and win one for their beloved owner Larry Thompson who passed away days earlier.

Larry was a down-to-earth , blue collar guy who couldn’t stand to see what was happening to his city’s football team. He wanted to restore the once great flagship franchise of the CFL to its former days of glory.

His team’s two point win over the Riders was typical of the CFL.

But rookie Commissioner Steve Johnston wants to change our game.

Last week he announced that next year the rouge will no longer include a single point for a missed field goal that goes wide of the goal posts or a kick sails through the end-zone. If a returner is tackled trying to run it out, a single will be scored. A 35 second clock will start right after a play is dead like in the NFL. In the CFL it is 20, allowing for more plays in the last minutes.

The big changes come in 2027 include putting the uprights at the back of the end-zone to cut down on the number of field-goals.

Johnston thinks this will result in 60 more TDs per season. With kicks over 50 yards becoming routine, I doubt that.

Unlike the bandbox NFL end-zones that severely restrict what plays can be called, our big end zones have been one of the most important strengths of our game. They will be reduced by five yards and be closer to the NFL size.

Our big field, always a trademark of Canadian football, will be cut back from 110 to 100 yards, just like the NFL. Altering fields will have an enormous financial impact on every level of football, especially university and high school who will need to change to recruit players.

What is astonishing about the changes is that the players and coaches say they weren’t consulted.

Stampeder boss Dave Dickenson said he learned about the changes when driving to work.

Who did Johnston talk to?

Recently it was announced NFL Buffalo had entered an agreement with the Argos to promote football in Canada. Did NFL people suggest the changes?

Rightly pointing out only two teams are making money (Winnipeg and Saskatchewan) the commissioner said, “This is all about making our great game even more entertaining.” The leagues own statistics indicate entertainment value isn’t the problem.

Every week the CFL previews the days ahead. Recently they reported through 54 games there have been 15 kick return TDs and 35 total return TDs compared to 11 and 31 respectively last season. Games are averaging 53.2 points-the highest mark since 2008. Quarterbacks have a combined 69.1 per cent completion rate, the highest in league history.

Five victories have featured teams overcoming 14-plus point deficits, there have been six walk-off wins this season all accomplished by field goal kickers, and 16 games have been decided by four points or less, with 12 being won by fourth-quarter comebacks.

Cut down on field-goals?

Like the 1989 Grey Cup won 43-40 when Dave Ridgway kicked the Roughriders to victory over Hamilton in the last minute? Or Lui Passaglia winning the 1994 Cup for B.C. thus repelling the American invader?

Who came up with these changes? When asked if three downs was untouchable, he refused to answer. When I asked him about supporting more Canadians and fewer imports in our game, he said that was up to a future collective agreement.

Reaction was swift. Lion Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke called the changes “garbage”. Winnipeg’s Hall of Fame player and coach Michael O’Shea said, “I’m Canadian. I love Canadian football. I love the CFL and I’m a purist. I like the game the way it is. It’s exciting, it’s stood the test of time. There are things about our game that are so unique that it make it so special.”

And to reporter Paul Friesen he said, “If we are going to be altering the game and removing uniquely Canadian items from the game, I would never be in favour of that. Because it’s ours. Uniquely ours.”

What a year.

First U.S. president Donald Trump threatened to make us the 51st state and now we have a rookie commissioner who wants a football league to match.

Elbows up.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 53 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.