Major CFL Rule Changes: Like or Dislike?

[BeaverFever]

First the changes, which many think make it too much like the NFL  

Mixed reaction, BC’s QB Rourke calls them “garbage”

 

I am ok with tinkering on the Rouge rule but the rest I feel are either bad or unnecessary changes for no reason.  The Commissioner who pushed them through without consultation has only been with the league for less than a year. 
 

What are your thoughts?

Edited September 24, 2025 by BeaverFever

[LinkSoul60]

32 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

First the changes, which many think make it too much like the NFL  

Mixed reaction, BC’s QB Rourke calls them “garbage”

 

I am ok with tinkering on the Rouge rule but the rest I feel are either bad or unnecessary changes for no reason.  The Commissioner who pushed them through without consultation has only been with the league for less than a year. 
 

What are your thoughts?

I love football, but growing up across the river from the US and with that media influence I was always and continue to be an NFL and College ball fan. The CFL was and still is an after thought for me, despite loving the game and having some friends who played in the league.  

I don't follow the CFL closely enough but I'm not surprised they're trying to do something like this to get more people in the seats and/or watching on TV.  Just looked it up and see that 7 of the 9 teams lost money in 24/25 and average attendance of ~23k so something clearly needs to change.  

More Canadian's follow the NFL and can't really comment on whether people are attached to the 'Canadiana' of the CFL game (?) but end of the day....I think people want to watch the best athletes with the best product on the field/ice/ballpark/floor.  If changing the rules to get more people interested and team owners making money then it's good for the league regardless of losing any 'Canadiana'.  Will it get me to watch...no not likely, but that's just me.

My 2 cents....

[TreeBeard]

Is this April Fool’s?

[BeaverFever]

19 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

.I think people want to watch the best athletes with the best product on the field/ice/ballpark/floor.  If changing the rules to get more people interested and team owners making money then it's good for the league regardless of losing any 'Canadiana'.

Here’s my problem with that sentiment, it’s not like CFL players fumble the ball more or drop more passes so I don’t really understand what people are saying when they say NFL has better athletes.  The leagus emphasize different attributes, what makes someone successful in one doesn’t necessarily translate to the other league. A 300 lb NFL lineman couldn’t hack it in the CFL where lineman need to be able to run down the field after a passing play then the ball is snapped 20 seconds later but that never gets mentioned by people. Same goes for other positions where small nimble players specialized for the CFL with its wide-open running and high speed cornering while NFL prefers large lumbering players who “crash through” their opponents.  Ricky Williams is a perfect example of a NFL player who at the peak of his career couldn’t hack it in the CFL due to the style change and then went back to have a stellar NFL career.  The flawed logic is that since the NFL pays its players millions of dilapidated they must have every talented player on the planet on their rosters but that’s not true. Perhaps BECAUSE they pay millions of dollars they can’t afford to recruit every talented player and the us college system produces a fresh crop of talented players every year   The NFL can’t even scout them all much less absorb them all and they don’t always choose correctly among those they do sign. 
 

As for “the product” this can only mean the non-football spectacle: the celebrities, the media hype, the T&A, the megabowl with 80,000 screaming fans. The NFL game itself is slow and boring in comparison  I don’t think NFL fans are there because they are rules connoisseurs and would take up CFL if only it had NFL rules  In fact the opposite NFL would be better if they played CFL style, which in fact has been sort of the trend as NFL uses more CFL style “athletic” running quarterbacks and the pass-heavy “California offence”  

 

[BeaverFever]

47 minutes ago, TreeBeard said:

Is this April Fool’s?

I don’t understand Canadians who deride and troll the CFL. Many of the same people who claim they won’t watch the CFL because they *think* the players aren’t NFL-caliber talent happily watch minor league hockey. 
 

And it’s uniquely a Canadian thing. Nobody is more into football than Americans and those who have seen the CFL speak very highly of it.  They certainly don’t troll it the way some Canadians feel the need to.  I think some Canadians need a league to have American teams in order to feel validated. In their mind Canada is “small time” and USA is “big time”. If the Canadian NHL teams split off to form their own Canadian hockey league even with the same players I wonder if they would also get the same level of trolling from their fellow Canadians. 

[TreeBeard]

The rule changes are nuts.  Why would I want to watch NFL lite?  The NFL isn’t popular due to its great set of rules, just as the CFL isn’t going to garner any more support by having rules closer to the NFL.  The CFL game already has better rules overall than the NFL, so the rules aren’t what is holding the CFL back.  
 

Makes zero sense. 

[LinkSoul60]

3 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

Here’s my problem with that sentiment, it’s not like CFL players fumble the ball more or drop more passes so I don’t really understand what people are saying when they say NFL has better athletes.  The leagus emphasize different attributes, what makes someone successful in one doesn’t necessarily translate to the other league. A 300 lb NFL lineman couldn’t hack it in the CFL where lineman need to be able to run down the field after a passing play then the ball is snapped 20 seconds later but that never gets mentioned by people. Same goes for other positions where small nimble players specialized for the CFL with its wide-open running and high speed cornering while NFL prefers large lumbering players who “crash through” their opponents.  Ricky Williams is a perfect example of a NFL player who at the peak of his career couldn’t hack it in the CFL due to the style change and then went back to have a stellar NFL career.  The flawed logic is that since the NFL pays its players millions of dilapidated they must have every talented player on the planet on their rosters but that’s not true. Perhaps BECAUSE they pay millions of dollars they can’t afford to recruit every talented player and the us college system produces a fresh crop of talented players every year   The NFL can’t even scout them all much less absorb them all and they don’t always choose correctly among those they do sign. 
 

As for “the product” this can only mean the non-football spectacle: the celebrities, the media hype, the T&A, the megabowl with 80,000 screaming fans. The NFL game itself is slow and boring in comparison  I don’t think NFL fans are there because they are rules connoisseurs and would take up CFL if only it had NFL rules  In fact the opposite NFL would be better if they played CFL style, which in fact has been sort of the trend as NFL uses more CFL style “athletic” running quarterbacks and the pass-heavy “California offence”  

 

I understand what you're saying but the facts are that overall, the best athletes are playing in the NFL.  If a CFL player could, he'd be on an NFL roster.  I helped coach minor football a number of years ago and we had two ex-CFL guys on the staff that went to US colleges.  Their take was that the CFL 'maybe had 5 studs' on the team roster whereas the NFL is '5 deep at every position with studs'.  Nathan Rourke is a good example... lit up the CFL but couldn't even make the practice squad roster in the NFL.  Not sure Ricky Williams is the best example....a different cat that ultimately ended up back in the NFL after the short CFL stint.  To say the NFL just has big lumbering athletes and not those small nimble guys isn't accurate.  They have those type guys, but also many more that are bigger, faster and can still run around corners (who I think are probably the best athletes on the field).  The money part is irrelevant only because the games are on different planets when it comes to fan engagement and revenues.  

I agree that media, hype, passion, etc, etc has a lot to do with the popularity of the NFL game but fact remains it's incredibly popular for all those and more reasons. The CFL needs to do something so if tweaks to the game will generate more interest from fans to get them in seats and watching TV I think that's a good thing.  Again, that's just my 2 cents....

[LinkSoul60]

12 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

I don’t understand Canadians who deride and troll the CFL. Many of the same people who claim they won’t watch the CFL because they *think* the players aren’t NFL-caliber talent happily watch minor league hockey. 
 

And it’s uniquely a Canadian thing. Nobody is more into football than Americans and those who have seen the CFL speak very highly of it.  They certainly don’t troll it the way some Canadians feel the need to.  I think some Canadians need a league to have American teams in order to feel validated. In their mind Canada is “small time” and USA is “big time”. If the Canadian NHL teams split off to form their own Canadian hockey league even with the same players I wonder if they would also get the same level of trolling from their fellow Canadians. 

I'll disagree with that.  I'm ONLY talking about the game of football and wanting to watch what I believe is the best product with the best athletes.  That has nothing to do with being a Canadian and everything to do with the quality of product. It's sports so I can take any and all nationalistic pride out of the equation as I'd honk most people can.  If the game is uniquely Canadian they can keep it that way and not change....but there probably wouldn't be a lot of hope for long term survival of the league 

[herbie]

The 55 yard marker defined the Cdn game.
And they seem to be doing their best to Americanize the game and take the "foot" out of foootball. Kicks made the other differentiation.'

Stupid and unnecessary changes. Hell could've made them meters and resized to 100.

[Shady]

Making it more like the NFL means that the CFL could better serve as a type of minor league system for the NFL, which could see it become much bigger and more prosperous.

[TreeBeard]

24 minutes ago, Shady said:

Making it more like the NFL means that the CFL could better serve as a type of minor league system for the NFL, which could see it become much bigger and more prosperous.

Never happen. NCAA is their minor league.  

[Shady]

1 hour ago, TreeBeard said:

Never happen. NCAA is their minor league.  

Not really.  There are hundreds of players that are undrafted every year.

[LinkSoul60]

2 hours ago, Shady said:

Not really.  There are hundreds of players that are undrafted every year.

Agree with both you and TreeBeard. If you can play the NFL will find you...NCAA or CFL.

[TreeBeard]

2 hours ago, Shady said:

Not really.  There are hundreds of players that are undrafted every year.

Most junior players go undrafted in every pro sports league.  Whats your point? 
 

CFL players rarely get to the NFL.  There’s no reason that would change with these rule changes. 

Edited September 25, 2025 by TreeBeard

[Shady]

10 hours ago, TreeBeard said:

Most junior players go undrafted in every pro sports league.  Whats your point? 
 

CFL players rarely get to the NFL.  There’s no reason that would change with these rule changes. 

The NFL could expand the draft to several more rounds.  Those players could then be used as a minor league by their affiliate NFL teams.  You could have several more CFL teams in Canada as a result.

[herbie]

What the NFL soes or doesn't do is meaningless to the Cdn game itself. Like it is to Autralian rules or rugby.
It certainly shouldn't modify itself to cater to the NFL or the career wishes of some players.

[SpankyMcFarland]

I presume they have good reasons for doing this but I can’t really see why. As a foreigner I never really got into the CFL, preferring rugby, soccer and the NFL, but I attended a few Stampeders games in Calgary and found the differences with the US version interesting. 

I’m sceptical of the ‘best athletes’ argument. The US just dominates our culture. I watch a load of US TV and American football comes with that for good or ill. 

BTW why did they never change the name NHL in hockey? It’s not a national league. I feel it’s like Canada was ignored there which is increasingly the case in the way they expanded the teams. 

[LinkSoul60]

23 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

I presume they have good reasons for doing this but I can’t really see why. As a foreigner I never really got into the CFL, preferring rugby, soccer and the NFL, but I attended a few Stampeders games in Calgary and found the differences with the US version interesting. 

I’m sceptical of the ‘best athletes’ argument. The US just dominates our culture. I watch a load of US TV and American football comes with that for good or ill. 

BTW why did they never change the name NHL in hockey? It’s not a national league. I feel it’s like Canada was ignored there which is increasingly the case in the way they expanded the teams. 

It needs to change because it's not a viable business right now.  7 of 9 teams lost money last year with attendance stagnant. Something needs to be done to get people in the seats otherwise owners will only accept so many years of losses before cutting bait.

Nahhhh, no scepticism of the better athletes playing in the NFL.  The best players play where the best competition is.

I didn't know (or forgot?) this background but they started calling it the 'National' Hockey League because it was founded by Canadian teams and was a continuation of the earlier National Hockey Association (NHA), which also had Canadian teams, so the "National' in the name was a holdover from it's original origins as a league exclusively in Canada.  The league kept the name even after expanding into the US, and the origin of the 'original six' era helped solidify the perception that is was a Canadian-American league.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2025 by LinkSoul60

[herbie]

Been a CFL fan since I was a little kid. Saw many greats play the game.
Always enjoyed the unpredictability of how any team could win any game at any time. Even if we had TWO Roughriders.

I remember in the early 1970s bugging my Eastern friends how they should have a final between the 2 worst place teams called the Toilet Bowl just so Toronto could win something.....
 

[SpankyMcFarland]

25 minutes ago, LinkSoul60 said:

It needs to change because it's not a viable business right now.  7 of 9 teams lost money last year with attendance stagnant. Something needs to be done to get people in the seats otherwise owners will only accept so many years of losses before cutting bait.

Nahhhh, no scepticism of the better athletes playing in the NFL.  The best players play where the best competition is.

I didn't know (or forgot?) this background but they started calling it the 'National' Hockey League because it was founded by Canadian teams and was a continuation of the earlier National Hockey Association (NHA), which also had Canadian teams, so the "National' in the name was a holdover from it's original origins as a league exclusively in Canada.  The league kept the name even after expanding into the US, and the origin of the 'original six' era helped solidify the perception that is was a Canadian-American league.

 

I know they are in trouble and they that they know a lot more about this than I do but being a poorer copy doesn't seem the way to go to me. 

And I’m not sceptical that the athletes are better down south, merely that such a fact changes the spectacle that much given that we are watching a different game. Should I stop watching rugby because the athletes are in some ways better in the NFL? They are different games. I think the NFL is more slickly produced. It’s like the Premiership in soccer compared to the Spanish or Italian leagues. We like the production values, the razzmatazz they bring down there. 

The term NHL is simply wrong. It’s even more misleading than World Series. Debates for another day. 
 

Edited September 26, 2025 by SpankyMcFarland

[BeaverFever]

As I mentioned before, most American football fans who have watched the CFL actually enjoy and respect the league. I found interesting takes on the the change by US football channels here and the comments on CFL from mostly American viewers are overwhelmingly positive for the league and negative for the changes 
 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2025 by BeaverFever

[BeaverFever]

On 9/24/2025 at 12:43 PM, LinkSoul60 said:

If a CFL player could, he'd be on an NFL roster.  I helped coach minor football a number of years ago and we had two ex-CFL guys on the staff that went to US colleges.  Their take was that the CFL 'maybe had 5 studs' on the team roster whereas the NFL is '5 deep at every position with studs'.

Let’s take that at face value and assume it’s accurate for a minute and ask what does that mean for the fan?  It doesn’t mean they see more fumbled balls or dropped passes. One would think it means more “amazing” big plays in the NFL but it doesn’t. In fact NFL tends to be more conservative short yard plays.It’s the CFL where you see more breathtaking deep ball passes and breakaway runs. There are lots of exciting things that happen more in the CFL, I can’t think of too many that happen more often in the NFL.  So even if we accept that the NFL players are simply those who had slightly better sprint times or standing long jump measurements in training camp, where and how are the NFL fans getting extra entertainment value out of these supposed additional studs?  

[herbie]

Let's take what I said at value and repeat: it's a Cdn game, who gives a flying f*ck what the players end goal is.
They're lucky to have the NFL as a dream job, the CFL and the fans don't owe it to them. Nobody's stopping them.

 

[LinkSoul60]

On 10/3/2025 at 10:38 PM, BeaverFever said:

Let’s take that at face value and assume it’s accurate for a minute and ask what does that mean for the fan?  It doesn’t mean they see more fumbled balls or dropped passes. One would think it means more “amazing” big plays in the NFL but it doesn’t. In fact NFL tends to be more conservative short yard plays.It’s the CFL where you see more breathtaking deep ball passes and breakaway runs. There are lots of exciting things that happen more in the CFL, I can’t think of too many that happen more often in the NFL.  So even if we accept that the NFL players are simply those who had slightly better sprint times or standing long jump measurements in training camp, where and how are the NFL fans getting extra entertainment value out of these supposed additional studs?  

What it means is that the product on field is of the highest quality which means the fan is getting that perceived value.  I'm not at all suggesting CFL players or the product isn't good, it's just not the quality of the NFL.  It's a different game so of course you'll have more passing in the CFL. They have to go the same 10 yards in 2 plays versus 3 (not including 3rd/4th down) and have a bigger field which lends itself to more space to throw the ball.  From my perspective the average 'fan' wants to watch the best possible competition (product) and not who has the most exciting plays. I'd compare these two leagues similarly to how I look at the AHL versus the NHL.  The AHL is top to bottom full of guys who are fantastic hockey players, but most not good enough to make or stay in the NHL. That doesn't you're not going see quality hockey when you watch an AHL game, you're just not going to be watching the best players playing against each other in the best league.

Nostalgia isn't going to keep the CFL viable...more people engaged and paying for the product will.  Advertisers are not going to spend money trying to attract/influence people if small audiences are watching or attending games, and owners are only going to hang on for so long before they cut losses. I think the CFL is doing the right thing in looking for ways to make it a more attractive product for the masses. Otherwise, to keep it the same and not do anything differently would ultimately mean its failure.  

[herbie]

You're suggesting there's a 'quality' among massive hunks of meat slamming into each other in a stadium size checkers game that isn't consistent solely on obscene amounts of pay?

Sometimes I watch the Seahawks, but I find the level of excitement & disappointment nowhere near that of CFL games.

Maybe it's just from being a BC Lions/ Canicks fan for decades. Or maybe people from Tronna understand perfectly.