Former NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte stated the obvious about the CFL.
The retired 15-year veteran QB provided his view of the three-down league following a clearly uninformed take from CBS analyst Boomer Esiason, subtle shade from Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, and a unique comparison by former NFL punter and media personality Pat McAfee calling the CFL “state fair football,” which was followed by him declaring the league dead.
“I don’t think I would ever call it state fair football. The pay is obviously way different, the fanfare, the amount of people that watch American football compared to the CFL,” Frerotte said on The Rod Pedersen Show.
Frerotte was a seventh round, 197th overall selection by Washington in 1994. He started 93 games, 46 in the American capital, while suiting up for 147 total. The six-foot-three, 233-pound passer played for Washington, Minnesota, Denver, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Miami during his career.
“Everybody who plays hockey tries to get to the NHL. Everybody who plays football tries to get to the NFL. It’s good football, I’ve been to CFL games. It’s different — you have to get used to it because you’re used to your rules, but it’s still football,” Frerotte said.
In 1996 Frerotte was selected to play in the Pro Bowl. After 15 seasons in the NFL, Frerotte finished completing 54.7 percent of his passes for 21,291 yards with 114 touchdowns against 106 interceptions. During the regular season, Frerotte produced a 45-47-1 win-loss-tie record and went 0-2 as a starter in the playoffs.
“You definitely cannot go against what the CFL has done because they’ve been around for a long, long time,” Frerotte said. “They don’t call it American football. Obviously, the rules are different, but it is still football, there is still hitting, tackling, forward pass — all the things that American football does.”