Regular season | ||
---|---|---|
Dates | June 9, 2022 – October 29, 2022 | |
Playoffs | ||
Start date | November 6, 2022 | |
109th Grey Cup | ||
Date | November 20, 2022 | |
Site | Mosaic Stadium, Regina | |
|
The 2022 CFL season is the 68th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it is the 64th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on June 9, 2022, and is scheduled to end on October 29, 2022, with 18 games being played per team over 21 weeks.[1] Regina is scheduled to host the 109th Grey Cup on November 20, 2022.[2][3]
The three-year agreement that was ratified between the CFL and CFL Player's Association expired just prior to this season, on May 15, 2022, which was the first day of scheduled training camp.[4][5][6] After the CFL and CFLPA failed to come to an agreement before the deadline, players from seven of the nine teams formally went on strike on May 15, 2022; with players from the two teams located in Alberta voting to strike on May 19, 2022 in accordance with provincial labour laws.[7][8][9] This is the first CFL labour strike since 1974.[10] On May 18, 2022 the CFL and CFLPA reached a tentative agreement on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA).[11] However, on May 23, 2022 the players voted against the tentative agreement, despite its approval by the bargaining committee and being recommended by team player reps.[12] On May 26, 2022 the CFLPA and CFL agreed to a revised tentative CBA agreement.[13] A few hours later the players voted to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement.[14] The CFL Board of Governors officially ratified the agreement on May 31, 2022.[15] Topics of negotiation include compensation, partially guaranteed contracts, revenue sharing, player safety, and league revenue generation following two seasons heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[16] However, much of the debate revolved around the Canadian-American player ratios.[17]
The 2022 salary cap will set at $5,350,000 ($118,888 per active roster spot). Minimum salaries set at $65,000 for National and American Players and $54,000 for Global Players. [4][18] This is the last year minimum salaries will be tiered (in 2023, the minimum rises to $70,000 for the entire league). Players also share $136,111 per club ratification bonus and $100,000 per club in community relations payments.
The league released the season's full schedule on December 16, 2021, just four days after the 108th Grey Cup, which returned to an 18-game schedule following a pandemic-shortened 2021 CFL season.[19] The regular season is scheduled to begin on June 9, 2022, with the Calgary Stampeders hosting the Montreal Alouettes.[1] The Grey Cup rematch game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats does not occur until week 3, which is the first time since 2018 that this game was not featured in week 1 of the regular season.[1] Similar to the planned 2020 CFL season and the schedule from 2021, this year will again feature more intra-divisional games, with BC, Calgary, and Edmonton playing 12 such games, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg playing 11 divisional games, and the East Division teams playing 10 divisional games.[1] This was done to reduce cross-country travel.[19]
The schedule will feature all intra-divisional matchups in the last two weeks of the regular season.[19] This year also features more home-and-home matchups, with every team having at least two and Saskatchewan, Toronto, and Ottawa having five of these matchups.[1] The Toronto Argonauts are scheduled to play a neutral site game on July 16, 2022, against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Raymond Field, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia; with the stadium capacity being increased from 3,000 to 10,000.[20] This will be the first CFL match held in Atlantic Canada since the 2019 season. All previous regular season games of the Touchdown Atlantic series were held in Moncton, New Brunswick.[21] Tickets for the match sold out in less than one hour.[22]
On April 27, 2022, the league announced a series of rule changes with the intention of improving game flow, and increasing offensive production.[23]
The 2022 free agency period officially began on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. ET.[24] Pending free agents and teams were able to negotiate offers for one week starting Sunday, January 30, 2022, and ending Sunday, February 6, 2022.[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]
Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BC Lions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 137 | 49 | 1–0 | W3 | Details |
Calgary Stampeders | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 93 | 80 | 1–0 | W3 | Details |
Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 64 | 41 | 0–0 | W3 | Details |
Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 69 | 66 | 1–0 | L1 | Details |
Edmonton Elks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 115 | 0–3 | L3 | Details |
Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Toronto Argonauts | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 63 | 1–0 | L1 | Details |
Montreal Alouettes | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 83 | 63 | 0–1 | W1 | Details |
Ottawa Redblacks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 72 | 0–0 | L3 | Details |
Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 89 | 0–0 | L3 | Details |
The CFL will continue to be broadcast on TSN and RDS across all platforms in Canada as part of their current contract.[27] The broadcast rights are reported to have been extended through 2025.[28] The CFL entered a new partnership with Visaic providing streaming options for 130 countries and territories around the world. This service will be available to anyone outside of Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States, where the rights are held by TSN, RDS, ESPN and BT Sports.[29] Prices ranged from $4.99 USD for a single game, to $99.99 for every regular season and playoff game.[30]
Week | First | Second | Third | Fans' Choice |
---|---|---|---|---|
One | Nathan Rourke | James Butler | T. J. Lee | |
Two | Titus Wall | Rene Paredes | Jamal Morrow | |
Three | Nathan Rourke | Malik Henry | Willie Jefferson |
Source[31]