Brady Oliveira and A.J. Ouellette have the potential to up the ante for running backs being paid in the CFL in free agency this year.
At a time when the value of the position has been questioned by some — especially the analytics crowd — both playmakers were vital to their teams’ success in 2023. The Blue Bombers scored the most points (594) of any squad in the CFL, while the Argonauts set a single-season franchise record with 16 wins. Winnipeg (33) and Toronto (32.8) were the only two teams to average over 30 points per game.
Oliveira earned the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian award after becoming the 15th player in league history to record 2,000 yards from scrimmage. The 26-year-old carried the ball 260 times for 1,534 yards (5.9 per carry) and nine touchdowns. Hall of Fame ball carrier Jon Cornish is the only Canadian to rush for more yards in a single season, running for 1,873 in 2013.
The Winnipeg native hit every incentive in his contract to earn $120,000 last year. His production warrants a substantial raise, especially with the five-foot-ten, 222-pound back in the prime of his career. Andrew Harris was the highest-paid Canadian running back in 2023 at $145,000, though he earned around $230,000 annually during his peak seasons as a perennial CFL all-star.
The man with the fifth-most rushing yards in league history made that upper-echelon money when the salary cap was less than the $5.585 million it is in 2024. There will be multiple teams going after Oliveira’s signature in the negotiation window to finalize a contract with the ratio-breaker if he doesn’t re-sign with his hometown Bombers.
Harris mentored Oliveira and Ouellette as the American produced his first career 1,000-yard rushing campaign for the Argonauts, needing only parts of 15 games to do it. The 28-year-old tied for the league lead with 10 runs of 20-plus yards, displaying his explosive ability. His versatile skillset and upside should get him a pay increase from the $113,800 earned in 2023.
Ouellette has physical running that he combines with smooth athleticism catching the football. Through 31 CFL games, he has 59 receptions for 552 yards, averaging 9.4 per catch, with four touchdowns. The Covington, OH native has low mileage and his proven ability to be an every-down back in the Canadian game means he’ll have no shortage of suitors should a new contract not come to fruition with the Argos.
Ka’Deem Carey took the American running back market to another level in January 2022, signing a two-year contract extension worth a total of nearly $280,000 with tough negotiator John Hufnagel on the other end of the bargaining table. Carey led the league in rushing yards (1,088) and touchdowns by a running back (10) fresh off that deal with an eye-popping 6.6 yards per carry. He ranked No. 1 in total rushing grade from Pro Football Focus (93.5), forced the most missed tackles, produced the most rushing first downs, and the most explosive runs.
Quad and turf toe injuries sidelined him for nine games in 2023, however, he was able to average 5.3 yards per carry — better than any running back in B.C., Saskatchewan, or Hamilton — behind the worst run-blocking offensive line (50.6 as graded by PFF) in the league. If used properly, Carey can still be one of the most productive backs in the CFL and provide value for a team needing a proven every-down player as a piece for a championship run such as the B.C. Lions. While he could be a culture-changer with the Roughriders aiming for a rebound season.
Since 2019, the highest-paid running back in the league has been on the Grey Cup-winning team — Harris in 2019, 2021, and 2022, plus William Stanback with the Montreal Alouettes last year. That’s part circumstance, but also supports the theory that running backs have real value on the field and produce when it matters most.
“When you look at overall production, touches and game impact on a weekly basis, paying a receiver $300,000 to get a few catches per game compared to a running back who is in the 20-touch range $150,000 doesn’t add up,” Harris explained.
Edmonton made Eugene Lewis the highest-paid receiver at $320,000 last year and finished last in the league with a 4-14 record, while Kenny Lawler was the second-highest-paid pass catcher at $250,000. It was Lewis and Lawler who took the receiver market to new heights and perhaps the top-class free-agent running backs can do the same when the market opens.
