2026 CFL season
Canadian Football League season
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The 2026 CFL season is the 72nd season of modern professional Canadian football. Officially, it is the 68th season of the Canadian Football League. Calgary is scheduled to host the 113th Grey Cup on November 15, 2026.[1] The regular season began on June 4 and will end on October 24.[2][3]
| 2026 CFL season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | June 4 – October 24, 2026 |
| 113th Grey Cup | |
| Date | November 15, 2026 |
| Venue | McMahon Stadium, Calgary |
West 
EastCFL news in 2026
Salary cap
The salary cap for the 2026 season is $6,330,514 ($140,755 per active roster spot) per team.[4] Including non-football related services of $110,000, the total salary expenditure cap was to be at or above $6,440,514.[5] This will be the third season that players will receive revenue sharing, which will be set at 27% this season.[2] The minimum player salary was set at $70,000, which remains unchanged since 2023.[2][6]
According to the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2026 salary cap was scheduled to be at least $6,162,365, largely as a result of the revenue sharing increase from 2025.[5][2][6][7] On January 23, 2026, the CFL and CFLPA announced the cap will be $6,280,514 ($139,567 per active roster spot).[8] Under the revenue share formula in the collective agreement, the CFLPA elected to allocate $50,000 per club preseason veteran bonus payment and $218,149 increase in each clubs salary cap. On April 29, the league and CFLPA agreed to a $6,330,514 salary cap for 2026 season and increased playoff compensation for 2027 season.[4]
Rule changes
On September 22, 2025 and May 12, 2026, the league and commissioner Stewart Johnston announced that a series of significant rule changes would come into effect for the 2026 season.[9][10]
- 35-second play clock: Teams will have 35 seconds to begin the next play after the previous play is whistled dead. Previously, following a play, the referees placed the ball and a 20-second play clock was initiated by an official, leading to inconsistencies based on the officiating team. A 20-second clock will still be utilized after the 3-minute warning of each half beginning with the first play after the 3-minute time-out.
- Opposite-field team benches: To facilitate the play clock change, all teams will be required to have their bench areas on opposite sidelines of the field, reducing the distance required for substitutions. In the 2025 season, the BC Lions and all East Division teams had team benches side-by-side on one side of the field.
- Ineligible receiver: An incomplete pass will be added to the possible outcomes available to the defending team when an ineligible receiver penalty is called against the offence.
- Modified rouge: A single will no longer be awarded if it is kicked past the dead line or through the side of the endzone. A single can only be scored if a punt, field goal, or kickoff settles in the end zone, and the returner fails to take it out or takes a knee in the end zone.
- Dead-ball placement: If a field goal attempt hits the goalpost and no points are awarded, or if a kick goes out of bounds through the end zone without a single awarded, the receiving team will scrimmage from its 40-yard line.
- Overtime: If the game is tied after regulation, "mini-games" will still be played where each team has one possession starting from the opponent's 35-yard line. Should the score remain level after a second mini-game, teams will alternate 2-point conversion attempts from the 3-yard line until a winner is determined, therefore assuring that regular-season games will no longer end in a tie. This alternate-play rule change is similar to that employed by American college football since 2021.
- Replay: The league's Replay Centre will automatically review any turnover on downs.
- Kneel-downs: A half or the game may end on a single kneel if the defence does not have a time-out, if it is first down and the offence wishes to end the half or game, and if 40 seconds or less remain on the game clock.
- Roster flexibility: Prior to the game, teams may provide officials with a third ineligible number capable of reporting and lining up in an eligible position.
Relocated games
The home stadiums of the BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts are scheduled to host 2026 FIFA World Cup games from June 12, 2026, to July 7, 2026, resulting in those stadiums being unavailable for most of June and July.[11]
On August 15, 2025, it was announced that the Argonauts would play one home game in each of Hamilton Stadium against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Mosaic Stadium against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Princess Auto Stadium against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers while the World Cup is being played.[11] These games are scheduled to be played in the first half of the season.[11] The team's remaining six home games are scheduled toward the second half of the season.[12] The Argonauts will also play their preseason game in Guelph at Alumni Stadium for the fifth season in a row.[13]
With the Roughriders hosting ten regular season home games, the team announced on August 15, 2025, that they would play this season's home pre-season game in Saskatoon at Griffiths Stadium.[14]
On February 19, 2026, it was announced that the Edmonton Elks moved their preseason game against the Calgary Stampeders on May 29 to Clarke Stadium due to a World Cup soccer exhibition game being held at Commonwealth Stadium and a temporary grass field in place.[15] Clarke Stadium, located directly beside Commonwealth Stadium, was the former stadium of the Edmonton Eskimos. This was the first time since 1978 that the stadium hosted a professional football game.[16]
On September 26, 2025, the Lions announced that they would play their first two regular season home games in Kelowna at the Apple Bowl with an expanded capacity of 17,500 seats.[17] The Lions also announced that their pre-season game would be played in Langford at Starlight Stadium for the second consecutive season.[17]
Schedule
The season schedule was released on December 9, 2025, notably featuring four relocated pre-season games and five relocated regular season games.[18] The season started on June 4, with three teams on a bye week, with the three opening-week games being the fewest in league history.[18] The 112th Grey Cup rematch will take place on the Thanksgiving Day Classic as opposed to the more typical early season entry.[18] The schedule also features a quadruple-header for the Labour Day rematch games, which is the first time since 1995, when the CFL had 13 teams, that the league plays four games in one day.[18] The season features more Sunday games with five games from week 4 to week 8 and three games from week 12 to week 14.[18] The regular season concludes on October 24, 2026, with two games kicking off at 3:00pm ET.[19]
Coaching changes
| Team | 2025 HC | 2026 HC | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Redblacks | Bob Dyce | Ryan Dinwiddie | Bob Dyce served as head coach of the Redblacks since being named interim head coach on October 1, 2022.[20] While he led the team to the playoffs in 2024, the team disappointed the next season with a 4–14 record and Dyce was fired at the end of the season.[21] He finished his tenure with Ottawa with an 18–39–1 record.[21] After receiving permission to speak with Toronto Argonauts head coach, Ryan Dinwiddie, he was named both head coach and general manager of the Redblacks on November 5, 2025.[22] |
| Toronto Argonauts | Ryan Dinwiddie | Mike Miller | Dinwiddie was the head coach of the Argonauts from 2021 to 2025 where he had a 51–35 record and led the franchise to two Grey Cup victories.[22] After a difficult 2025 season where the team had a 5–13 record, he was approached by the Ottawa Redblacks and became their head coach and general manager.[22] The team's quarterbacks coach, Mike Miller, was named as his replacement on December 2, 2025.[23] |
Player movement
Free agency
The 2026 free agency period began on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ET.[24] Pending free agents and teams were able to negotiate offers for one week starting Sunday, February 1, 2026, and ending Sunday, February 8, 2026.[25] All formal offers to a player during this time were sent to both the league and the players union and could not be rescinded.[25][26]
Regular season
Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Elks | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 84 | 68 | 1–0 | W3 | Details | |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 105 | 104 | 2–0 | L1 | Details | |
| Calgary Stampeders | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 164 | 139 | 0–2 | W2 | Details | |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 75 | 88 | 1–1 | L2 | Details | |
| BC Lions | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 87 | 113 | 0–2 | L3 | Details | |
| Team | GP | W | L | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Alouettes | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 133 | 124 | 3–0 | W1 | Details | |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 105 | 84 | 0–1 | W2 | Details | |
| Toronto Argonauts | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 150 | 153 | 2–1 | L1 | Details | |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 80 | 110 | 0–2 | L3 | Details | |
Broadcasting
In Canada, this is the final year of the league's exclusive contract with TSN (in English) and RDS (in French).[27][28] Games will be broadcast in the United States by CBS Sports Network with a deal also set to expire after this season.[29] Johnston stated in January 2026 that the league was seeking to finalize an extension with TSN prior to the start of the 2026 season, and that the league refused to consider any competitors' offers.[30]
Outside of North America, the league's streaming platform, CFL+, will stream all regular season games for free (along with games not carried by CBS Sports Network in the United States).[31] Most pre-season games will be streamed worldwide for free on CFL+.[31] Radio broadcast rights belong to team's local stations and SiriusXM.[31]