Four teams have been fined by the CFL for exceeding the salary cap in 2022, including the two clubs that squared off in the Grey Cup.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks, and Montreal Alouettes were found to have exceeded the cap following an audit from the league. Each team was fined in accordance with the amount by which they exceeded the cap.
Winnipeg was assessed the largest fine at $64,499 followed by Toronto at $49,735. Ottawa was fined $11,994, while Montreal was fined a paltry $794.
The league’s remaining teams did not surpass the salary cap in 2022.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ president and CEO Wade Miller provided the following statement to 3DownNation, explaining his team’s situation.
“We acknowledge that we exceeded the CFL’s Salary Management System cap. We had an unprecedented number of injuries in 2022 and did not want to sacrifice putting a competitive football team on the field.”
All nine CFL teams are audited on player spending each year. Clubs are also required to update the league on how much they’ve spent during the season after they’ve played six, 12, and 18 regular season games.
Penalties for going over the cap escalate if teams are found to have exceeded it by more than $100,000. As no teams did so in 2022, there will be no forfeiture of picks ahead of the 2023 CFL Draft on May 2.
The CFL’s salary cap for 2023 is $5.45 million per team.
