Quarterback Dane Evans has played at a bargain rate for three seasons in the CFL.
Through three years with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats his base salaries were $55,000, $65,000 and $83,000 with bonus incentives that have taken him north of $100,000 twice. The 28-year-old could cash in for a more lucrative pay day if he hits the open market.
“I do want to be here, but I owe it to myself to see what free agency is about. I’ve never been in that position before, so it’s something that I really don’t know what to expect going into it. Yes, I do want to be here but I think I owe it to myself also to see what it’s all about,” Evans said.
“That doesn’t mean that I don’t love this city, me and my wife any time somebody comes up, the Grey Cup makes you think about this, from the United States to visit, we can’t wait to show the city off — we feel like we’re almost Hamiltonians ourselves.”
“We love this city, we love taking people around town, I love everything it stands for, I love the way the fans respect and love this team, I love the way the fans hold us accountable and that’s something that you can’t get everywhere.”
Evans has grown an affinity for Hamilton but the likelihood of him wearing black and gold with fellow QB Jeremiah Masoli in the future seems low. As much as Orlondo Steinauer has enjoyed the luxury of having two starting calibre quarterbacks on his roster, the head coach admits it could be difficult to re-sign both highly competitive athletes.
“Of course they’re going to want to play and we totally understand that it’s not likely that we’ll be in a situation this fortunate, again,” Steinauer said.
“I love that about them, of course they want to play. They want to start, that’s what they are and they’ve earned that by the respect from their teammates, they’ve earned that by their production.”
“It’s probably highly unlikely that we get two quarterbacks of that type of calibre under contract again, that’s just a rare thing and that’s really just a credit to them of wanting to be a part of it. Would we entertain something like that? Absolutely, but that’s ultimately their decision.”
After signing with the Ticats in 2017, Evans worked his way from the practice roster to the game day line-up and earned starter status at the most important position in football. He completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,754 yards with 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during the regular season in 2019 while producing a 10-2 win-loss record as a starter.
In 2021, Evans completed 64 percent of his passes for 787 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions while going 2-1 as a starter in the regular season. He led a comeback in the East Final after Masoli was benched which earned him the start in the 108th Grey Cup. A re-aggravated neck injury in the CFL championship forced Evans to exit, Masoli took over and nearly led the Ticats to a win at Tim Hortons Field.
“It is extremely rare, specifically in pro football, to have two quarterbacks 1A and 1B in this day and age,” Evans said.
“I would love to be teammates again, I love and respect Jeremiah — he’s a helluva guy. But that’s over my pay grade, I honestly have no clue.”
