Chasing the NFL, the CFL’s new rules could cost Canada its game.
Starting in 2026, Canadian Football League (CFL) teams will have to abide by a 35-second play clock and will be unable to score a single point from unreturned missed kicks. By 2027, CFL fields will become ten yards shorter, and the goalposts will move from the front of the end zone to the back.
While changes, such as modifications to the play clock, are needed to move the game along, others are an unnecessary attempt to mirror the National Football League (NFL), risking the erasure of the distinctly Canadian quirks of the CFL.
Perhaps the most notable change is teams’ inability to score points for missed kicks. Previously, a missed kick that stayed in the end zone could be returned by the team to gain yardage. Unreturned, the missed conversion would award the kicking team a single point or a ‘rouge’. The rule puts pressure on teams to return missed kicks, occasionally resulting in outstanding returns that’re unseen in the NFL, where the goalposts sit at the back of the end zone. Most notably, this was seen in the ’87 Grey Cup, where Toronto missed a field goal, and Edmonton scored off a 112-yard return.
The shrinking field size is an added challenge on two fronts. The large presence of Canadian football stadiums was an iconic symbol of the CFL. In the Prairies, where the CFL is most popular, football stadiums stand out as a massive landmark in the midst of sprawling prairies—a cultural epicentre for many communities. The rule changes are supposed to increase viewership; however, they don’t seem to be learning from the places where the CFL is already thriving.
Regulatory changes to field sizes also present a challenge for U Sports and smaller developmental leagues. The CFL has long drafted U Sports athletes to supply homegrown talent; however, the changes in infrastructure to meet CFL regulations will be costly. On Sept. 22, the U Sports governing body stated that they will be consulting with members and stakeholders to decide if they will uphold the new regulations.
One rule change that’ll impact the game for the better is the 35-second play clock. Previously, teams had 20 seconds to run their next play, but only after the down was marked and substitutions were made. Now, as soon as the last whistle is blown, teams will have a uniform 35 seconds to run their next play. This will enhance the game’s flow and uniformity across referees.
The CFL’s new rules are clearly intended to increase viewership, which has been declining by over 6 per cent year over year. In 2025, only Saskatchewan and Winnipeg managed to turn a profit, and challenges of viewership would be better addressed by a better marketing strategy than by fundamentally changing the rules of the game.
Despite being in financial trouble, the Grey Cup is one of the most viewed television programs on Canadian broadcasting. Now imagine what the league could do with more than a 110 thousand per player marketing spend. The current “marketing money” is allocated to players individually and has faced criticism for being used to circumvent player salary caps instead of promoting the league. Clearly, a more responsible marketing model is needed.
Everything considered, the new rules represent a concerning move away from enhancing the game and towards appealing to the crowd’s decreasing attention span. When announcing the changes, Stewart Johnston, the CFL’s commissioner, said the changes were to make the game “even more entertaining, and to win in the attention economy.”
Football’s always been a game of stops and starts, and the CFL shouldn’t try to reconfigure itself just because viewers have a decreasing attention span. Though the new play clock has its benefits, regulations on field size and kick returns are clearly intended to increase touchdowns, an unnecessary move that diminishes the uniqueness of Canadian football.
The CFL will never be the same as the NFL, so they should stop trying to be. The CFL’s decreasing viewership should be addressed by embracing its quirks instead of erasing them.
Tags
canadian football league, CFL, cloey's corner, NFL, rule change, U Sports
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Tom
I played canadian football as a youth and have watched the cfl for over 50 years. Changing the field dimensions and post position is absurd, and will only harm the Canadianess of our game.
David Simpson
Load this new commissioner onto a conveyor belt and run him into a wood chipper. Put Trudough right behind him.
Jason Yacyshyn
They should leave the CFL be. Way more exciting to watch then NFL and all of its crappy rules and tiny field. Kick returns are fun to watch
James Buhiire
I have always believed that real money doesn’t come from people going to the games. It comes advertising. I will say the decline started when when they implemented the black out rule unless a certain percentage of the stadium was full. Then the game moved from regular TV to cable when most it the population didn’t have cable. You people interested in the game, it starts at home, you watch the game, you see the excited fans, you want to be there next time. Especially the young people who will be begging their dads and granddads to take them to the game.
Yes, I agree with writer. Show the game on TV. Advertise it and finally, enforce the rules on the fields. Sometimes I turn off the game when the officiating is either biased against one team or the it’s just brutal. Missing calls or making up calls and Video reviewers can’t see what everyone else is seeing.
James Buhiire
I have always believed that real money doesn’t come from people going to the games. It comes from advertising. I will say the decline started when when they implemented the black out rule unless a certain percentage of the stadium was full. Then the game moved from regular TV to cable when most people of the population didn’t have cable. You want people interested in the game, it starts at home, you watch the game, you see the excited fans, you want to be there next time. Especially the young people who will be begging their dads and granddads to take them to the game.
Yes, I agree with writer. Show the game on TV. Advertise it, and finally, enforce the rules on the field. Sometimes I turn off the game when the officiating is either biased against one team or the it’s just brutal. Missing calls or making up calls and Video reviewers can’t see what everyone else is seeing.
David Coulter
Despite it being announced the “new rules” were subject to vigorous consultation process in advance if announcrment, I fail to see any definitive data being displayed to support the thesis of necessary.
This Commish and band of Bro’s embarass themselves in front of CFL fans with weak rhetoric of higher scores and player safety. Absolute Bull Shit.
There is ulterior financial motivation, likely from MLSE, to abandon CFL in couple of years to allow their introduction of an NFL franchise in Totonto. Follow the money.
Personally collapse or move the current Toronto franchise to Halifax
Tell MLSE to pound sand.
Leave the CFL game alone.
Vince Crysler
Leave the “Canadian game” Canadian. I agree with previous comments, I grew up watching CFL games with my folks on TV way before cable. It was fun and family oriented. With cable and black-outs, thats what killed the CFL. Now they want to make the game like the the NFL!! Well, I guess I won’t be going to watch games any more. Marketing the Canadian game is a way better idea than killing it.