CFLPA wants fully guaranteed contracts

Photo: CFLPA

The Canadian Football League Players’ Association (CFLPA) planted its flag on a key issue during Grey Cup week in Calgary: fully guaranteed contracts.

In their press conference on Friday, executive director David Mackie and president Solomon Elimimian indicated they want members to be eligible to sign fully guaranteed contracts, something that has never been previously available to CFL players.

“Guaranteed contracts would help provide greater stability for our members, while helping build roster continuity,” said Mackie. “We want to see more of these guaranteed contracts, which will lead to more engagement with the community, build relationships with fans, fewer blank jerseys on game day, and become part of the cities and provinces that they represent.”

“A number of our members are pivotal in their community. They love that community, they set roots there, they start a family there, and that would provide them the stability to be able to build a life up here, regardless if they’re National, Global, or Americans. We want to see them be a part of this community, and that stays when they’re guaranteed.”

When the current collective bargaining agreement was ratified in 2022, the union negotiated for partial guarantees in contracts — with several conditions.

Currently, guarantees can only be made in the final year of a multiyear contract, provided the player has veteran status and is signing an extension to remain with the same team. Guarantees are also capped at 50 percent of the value of the base salary.

Relatively few contracts have been signed including guaranteed money. The most recent one came last month, when Chad Kelly signed a five-year extension with the Toronto Argonauts worth just over $5.5 million in hard money.

The union clearly wants to see guarantees not only become more prevalent, but also be made in full — without so many clauses and caveats.

“We’ve had good conversations with the CFL about a lot of items,” said Elimimian. “Guaranteed contracts, we believe, is important to players, but also to the teams. When a fan spends their hard-earned money on tickets or jerseys, I think they want the assurance that the player is going to be there for a long time, and guaranteed contracts is a way to provide an incentive for players to stay in the communities, in the market, to be part of the community for a long time.”

It’s not a surprise that the union wants members to be able to sign guaranteed contracts. It’d be a groundbreaking achievement for the players, and would require significant bargaining power.

Last year, the CFLPA indicated they can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement before the 2027 season, using a clause tied to the league’s media rights deal. In May, the league struck a six-year agreement with TSN and DAZN worth a reported $83 million per season.

The union declined to indicate if they plan to exercise the opt-out, suggesting that they are negotiating with the league on multiple issues.

“We’re not going to discuss our bargaining strategy, but the one thing that’s very clear is that we are always negotiating with the league,” said Mackie. “The commissioner is coming to us with lots of ideas. We’re receptive, and he seems receptive to ours. It‘s important to note that we are always negotiating. Right now, we’ve got ongoing discussions involving a number of different items.”

Chris Lambiris, Kelly’s agent, went public in September with his desire to negotiate a contract worth a percentage of the salary cap, instead of raw dollars. When asked if the CFLPA would like players to have the option to negotiate such a contract, the union was noncommittal.

“We’re exploring all things within the standard player contract and the CBAs,” said Mackie. “As you’ve seen the last couple of years, there’s been plenty of ideas going around and different negotiations, and we’re looking at different ways to make sure that all members can benefit. Whether that’s language or changes to compensation, we’re in those discussions.”

The league’s minimum salary is set to increase to $75,000 in 2027, though that is arguably too low — especially now that top quarterbacks can earn over $1 million.

The ever-increasing money being paid to American college players has made recruitment more challenging for the CFL, as has the presence of U.S. spring leagues. The UFL had a minimum salary in 2026 of $64,000 USD, which is the equivalent to around $91,000 CAD.

It’s also not uncommon for Canadian prospects with education in fields like engineering, law, or medicine to forgo professional playing careers in order to pursue those fields.

It seems the league and the union both have an appetite to raise the minimum salary, regardless of whether or not the current CBA remains in place through 2028.

“We’ve had good discussions with the leadership at the CFLPA,” said CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston. “All of us are aligned to try and figure out a way, whether it’s prior to the expiry of the current CBA or moving forward, to increase or impact the minimum salaries. Whether that’s going to happen at six figures or not, we will have those discussions.”

“We’re encouraged by Stewart’s comments this morning,” said Elimimian. “He made it known that we want to find solutions. It’s important to them, it’s important to us. Ultimately, you negotiate from the bottom, and a lot of times, the upper salary guys, they have bargain power. Lower end guys maybe don’t, and that’s where as a P.A. we want to make sure all members are taken care of.”

“From what we know, there’s going to be enough (money) for everybody,” said Mackie. “We love seeing the million dollar player, but we think that everyone should benefit, and I think that we can come up with some strategies to benefit everyone.”

CFL salaries have historically been shrouded in secrecy, though that’s changed in recent years thanks to increased media reporting. Given this evolution, Elimimian indicated the union might be closer to agreeing to salary disclosure. Last year, Johnston indicated he’d be open to salary disclosure, saying he wants “fans to have as much access to data as possible in our league.”

“I think that’s less of a concern now than was before, but if I’m being short — yes, that’s a conversation we’re willing to have,” he said. “As players are making more money, I think that’s a good story to tell. The fact that we have the first million dollar quarterback (of the CFL’s modern era), that brings integrity to the league, that this is a professional league. They pay our players well, and I think that brings more eyeballs to the product.”