CFL players will receive a bigger share of the pie in 2025, but one of the league’s biggest stars believes that the dessert was served far too late.
In an interview with Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, Blue Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros criticized the announcement of a massive salary cap increase on Wednesday, which came after the free agency legal tampering window had already opened.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that it came out today. It’s absurd. It affects a lot of things. Not just the last three days,” Collaros said. “I’m not involved enough with the Players Association to really comment on the why, but I had a lot of phone calls when I finished up a workout this morning (asking) what’s going on?”
The CFL and CFLPA each put out announcements detailing a $412,365 increase to the 2025 salary cap. Teams expected the salary cap limit to be $5,650,000 but the revenue growth sharing model enshrined in the collective bargaining agreement has driven it to $6,062,365 — marking the second-largest single-year jump in modern CFL history.
The news caught players and teams off-guard in the midst of the free agency communication window, which opened on February 2 to allow players with expiring contracts to speak to potential suitors. Dozens of pending free agents had already agreed to terms with other franchises before the cap increase was announced, potentially leaving money on the table.
Players cannot officially sign with their new teams until February 11, which could allow some to be swayed by a final offer utilizing the league’s newfound windfall. Collaros hopes the Bombers use the opportunity to try and win back a few of their departing stars, namely receiver Kenny Lawler who is currently set to join the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“I’d hope so. That’d be a no-brainer to me,” he said.
However, players and agents may be wary of reneging on previously agreed-upon handshake deals in a small league where relationships are key. Meanwhile, teams are still figuring out how to adjust their budgets while the CFLPA contemplates other ways to funnel the benefits of revenue growth toward their membership.
It is a confusing and chaotic situation that could have been avoided if the financial numbers had simply been announced a little earlier.
