The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...
. Officially, it was the 58th
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...
season. The
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...
won the
103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Starti ...
26–20 in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...
. The schedule was released February 13, 2015 and the regular season began on June 25, 2015.
CFL News in 2015
Salary cap
According to the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2015
salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
was set at $5,050,000 (average of $109,782 per active roster spot). As per the agreement, the cap is fixed and will not vary with league revenue performance. The base individual minimum salary was set at $51,000.
Season schedule
The 2015 season schedule was released on February 13, 2015, with the regular season opening on June 25, 2015 at
Percival Molson Memorial Stadium
Percival Molson Memorial Stadium (also known in French as ''Stade Percival-Molson''; commonly referred to as Molson Stadium in English or Stade Molson in French) is an outdoor football stadium in Downtown Montreal, on the slopes of Mount Royal, ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
.
It was the first time that Montreal had hosted the season opener since the
2011 CFL season
The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal ...
. The major complication this year was the lack of available stadium dates due to the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
and the
2015 Pan Am Games
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
occurring over the entire CFL pre-season and first five weeks of the regular season, affecting five member clubs. The
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first seas ...
,
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...
, and
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Starti ...
played pre-season games away from their regular stadiums and in some instances, in different cities. The
Hamilton Tiger-Cats did not play a regular season home game until week 6 and the
Argonauts did not play in Toronto for a regular season game until week 7.
Following three straight years of intra-division matchups in the last week of the regular season (and for the last two years, those same matchups in the last four weeks), the league featured inter-division games in the last week. There was also a Sunday game in the last week of the regular season which hadn't occurred since the
2010 CFL season
The 2010 CFL season is the 57th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it is the 53rd Canadian Football League season. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton hosted the 98th Grey Cup on November 28 when the Montreal Alouettes became the ...
. This season featured seven home-and-home series, up from two from the previous year. Despite
Ottawa returning to the league, they did not play the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...
on
Labour Day weekend, which is the first time since
2002 where both teams played in the league but did not play that same weekend. There were 15
double headers this year, with four on Fridays, nine on Saturdays, one on Sundays, and one on Labour Day Monday. The league also experimented with games regularly featured on Thursday nights, with one game every Thursday for 10 of the first 11 weeks of the season.
The
Thanksgiving Day Classic
The Thanksgiving Day Classic (french: Classique de jour de l'Action de grâce) is an annual doubleheader held on Thanksgiving in the Canadian Football League (CFL). It is typically one of two days in which the league plays on a Monday afternoon ...
featured just one game for the first time since
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, which is ironic in that it was the only week of the season with five games being played. For the second straight year, there was no
Touchdown Atlantic
Touchdown Atlantic (French: ''Touché Atlantique'') is a series of neutral site Canadian Football League games played in the maritime provinces of Canada.
In 2003, the league had struck a committee to examine the feasibility of adding a tenth t ...
contest.
Hall of Fame
The
Canadian Football Hall of Fame game took place on August 22, 2015, featuring the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in ...
hosting the
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...
.
Dave Dickenson
David Dickenson (born January 11, 1973) is a Canadian football head coach with the Calgary Stampeders and former professional player with the Stampeders and the BC Lions where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson als ...
,
Gene Makowsky
Gene Makowsky (born April 17, 1973) is a Canadian politician and former Canadian football offensive lineman who has been a member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly representing the riding of Regina Gardiner Park since 2016 and prior to t ...
,
Eddie Davis, and
Leroy Blugh were inducted as players while
Bob O'Billovich
Robert O'Billovich, nicknamed "Bobby O" or "Obie", (born June 30, 1940) is an east regional scout for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). O'Billovich has been involved with the CFL since 1963 in the roles of player, coach, general ...
,
Bob Wetenhall, and Larry Reda joined as builders. Dickenson played for five seasons for the Stampeders and will be coaching in the game, while Makowsky played his entire 17-year career with the Roughriders. Davis played for five years with the Stampeders and nine with the Roughriders, winning
Grey Cup championships with both teams.
Northern Kickoff
On June 14, 2013, it was announced that the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...
would host their 2015 preseason game at the new
SMS Stadium at Shell Place in
Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significan ...
against the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in ...
on June 13, 2015. As part of the deal, the game was broadcast nationally on
TSN, with a start time of 8:00pm
MDT. The game was played here to broaden the Eskimos' fanbase and to allow
Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multipurpose stadium located in the McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily used for Canadian fo ...
(the Eskimos' usual home) to host
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
. Attendance for the game was 11,825 fans (3,175 short of a sellout).
Fort McMurray also hosted a
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
regular season home game. This was done due to the Argonauts' usual home stadium,
Rogers Centre, being unavailable because of the
2015 Pan Am Games
Fifteen or 15 may refer to:
*15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16
*one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015
Music
*Fifteen (band), a punk rock band
Albums
* ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005
* ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
and
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
occupying all dates in the month of July. This was the first regular season game played in Fort McMurray and is the most northerly regular season game in CFL history.
The Toronto Argonauts defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 26–11 in front of a dismal attendance of only 4,900 fans (only 32.6% sold out), a low figure not seen for a regular season game since the days of the
Las Vegas Posse
The Las Vegas Posse were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team, that played at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, in the league's 1994 season as part of the CFL's short-lived American expansion. Lasting only one seaso ...
.
Fort McMurray was also considered as a host site for the
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first seas ...
' pre-season game against Edmonton, because they also had to vacate their stadium for the Women's World Cup, but the Lions instead opted to hold that game in
Thunderbird Stadium
Thunderbird Stadium is an outdoor stadium on the University Endowment Lands in British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of Vancouver's city limits, and is primarily used for soccer and football by the UBC Thunderbirds. It seats 3,500 in the ...
, a much closer but smaller venue, for that contest.
Quebec City preseason game
On June 13, 2015, the
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Starti ...
and the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...
played a preseason game in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, at the 12,257-seat
Telus Stadium
The ("Laval University Sports and Physical Education Complex"), usually called PEPS for short, is a sports complex located in Quebec City, Quebec, on the Université Laval campus. PEPS opened in 1970 and includes an outdoor stadium, an indoor st ...
. Like other venue changes early in the season, this was to accommodate the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
. This was the second time an Ottawa CFL franchise played a preseason game in Quebec City; the
Renegades played the Alouettes in front of 10,358 fans at Stade PEPS (now Stade TELUS-Université Laval) on June 7, 2003. The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 29–6 in front of 4,778 fans.
Coaching changes
Following the 2014 season, the
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first seas ...
parted ways with
Mike Benevides
Mike Benevides (born May 3, 1968) is a professional Canadian football coach. He most recently served as the defensive coordinator for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Benevides was the head coach for the BC Lions from 2 ...
, who had been the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of the Lions since 2012. In those three seasons, Benevides posted a record of 33–21 in the regular season and 0–3 in the post-season. The Lions hired
Jeff Tedford
Jeffrey Raye Tedford (born November 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is currently serving as the head coach at Fresno State, a position which he also previously held from 2017 to 2019. From 2002 to 2012, Tedford was t ...
as their new head coach. Tedford played quarterback in the CFL in the 1980s and was the head coach of the
University of California football team from 2002 through 2012. On August 21, 2015, Alouettes ownership relieved
Tom Higgins of his coaching duties and brought
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Jim Popp
James Thomas Popp (born December 21, 1964) is an American sports executive and coach currently working for the United States Football League (USFL) as the Director of Player Administration. He was previously a running back coach and assistant he ...
to the bench for the fourth time.
New CFL commissioner
Nearing the end of the
2014 CFL season
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an unre ...
,
Mark Cohon
Mark Steven Cohon, (born March 16, 1966) is the chairman of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). He was also the 12th commissioner of the Canadian Football League. The son of McDonald's Canada founder George Cohon, he was a ...
announced that he would be stepping down from his position as CFL commissioner. Cohon had been the CFL commissioner since
2007, which was the third longest tenure in league history. On January 9, 2015, his term came to an end and Jim Lawson (the chairman of the CFL's board of governors) became the interim commissioner while the CFL's board of governors searched for a new commissioner. On March 17, 2015,
Jeffrey Orridge
Jeffrey Lyndon Orridge (born 1960) is the chief executive officer of TVOntario, the provincial educational television network. He was appointed effective November 30, 2020. Previously he served as 13th Commissioner of the Canadian Football Leagu ...
was announced as the new commissioner of the CFL. Orridge assumed office on April 29, 2015. Most recently, Orridge had been employed by the
CBC as their Executive Director of Sports and General Manager from April 2011 to March 2015.
Sale of the Toronto Argonauts
Two of the principals of
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(
Kilmer Sports and
Bell Canada) announced its intent to acquire the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
prior to the 2015 season, acquiring the team from
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place.
The Lions played their first seas ...
owner
David Braley
David Osborn Braley (31 May 1941 – 26 October 2020) was a Canadian businessman and politician who was the owner of the BC Lions and previously owner of the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada ...
and ending the last remaining cross-ownership situation in professional football. (The third principal of MLSE,
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...
, declined to acquire a stake. Because Bell already owned exclusive TV rights to the entire league and radio rights to the Argonauts, Rogers had no interest in buying a stake in a team that it could not broadcast.)
The sale means that 2015 will likely be the last season for the Argonauts in the
Rogers Centre, where the team has had difficulties selling tickets; as soon as 2016, the team will move to MLSE-operated
BMO Field
BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former ...
, currently a
soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...
, which will be renovated to accommodate the CFL. The Argonauts were forced to move some home games out of the Rogers Centre because the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
, primary tenants of the Rogers Centre, made the playoffs in 2015. MLSE and Braley pursued backup plans in the event the Blue Jays have to schedule playoff games on weeks the Argonauts are set to play; the team considered stadiums such as
Tim Hortons Field
Tim Hortons Field, nicknamed "The Donut Box", is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and association fo ...
in Hamilton,
Alumni Stadium
Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the lower campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately west of downtown Boston. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles. Its present seating capacity is 44,500. Offic ...
in
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
, and even
UB Stadium
UB Stadium is a stadium in Amherst, New York on the campus of the University at Buffalo. It is primarily used for football, soccer, and track and field events, and is the home field of the Buffalo Bulls. It opened on September 4, 1993, with a ga ...
in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
as potential venues but ultimately rejected all of them, opting to play their October 6 home game against the
Ottawa Redblacks
The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Starti ...
in the home stadium of their opponent because it was "CFL-ready and TV-ready." The Argonauts would move their October 17 and 23 home game to Tim Hortons Field.
Broadcasting changes
This was the eighth season in which
The Sports Network
The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...
maintained an exclusive
partnership with the CFL for television rights. Beginning this season, TSN branded its Thursday night broadcasts as ''Thursday Night Football'' (unrelated to the
National Football League package of the same name) and featured a more entertainment-oriented focus.
The
Hamilton Tiger-Cats ended their longtime relationship with former flagship radio station
CHML
CHML is a radio station, broadcasting at 900 AM in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. CHML's transmitter power is 50,000 watts using an eight-tower directional antenna array with a signal oriented largely west-northwest to east-southeast, covering the ...
, the team's home continuously since 1984 and intermittently since 1950, and began a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...
with crosstown rival
CKOC
CKOC (1150 AM) is a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a business news format. CKOC is a 50,000-watt, Class B station operating on a Regional (not clear-channel) broadcast frequency, with transmitters locate ...
. The Tiger-Cats/CKOC venture saw that station (at the time carrying
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...
/
classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...
) transformed into Hamilton's first all-
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...
outlet, carrying
TSN Radio
TSN Radio is a semi-national sports radio brand and part-time network in Canada carried on AM radio stations owned by Bell Media.[Two-point conversions
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a conversion (gridiron football), one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the ...]
will be attempted from the three-yard line and traditional single-point converts will be attempted from the 25-yard line (making for a 32-yard kick). This is similar to a rule change attempted by the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, and the
Fall Experimental Football League
The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL).
The lea ...
in 2014, and adopted by the NFL in 2015.
* Defenders are only allowed to contact receivers within five yards of the line of scrimmage, similar to a rule adopted by the NFL in 1978 to increase offence. However, the penalty does not result in a first down, like the NFL rule.
* If a no-yards penalty is called after a kicked ball hits the ground, the penalty will be automatically tacked onto the end of the play.
* Offences are now allowed to indicate to the officials when they are in a hurry-up offence and will not be substituting players, allowing the officials to make adjustments to the
chain crew
In gridiron football, the chain crew (commonly known as the "chain gang") is a crew that manages signal poles on one of the sidelines. There are three primary signal poles: the "rear rod" that marks the beginning of the current set of downs, the ...
more quickly.
* Coaches are disallowed from asking the official for a measurement.
* During punts, players on the offensive line are not allowed to leave the line of scrimmage until after the punt has been executed.
* On kickoffs that go out of bounds, the receiving team is no longer allowed to request the kicking team kick again.
Rejected
* Adding a three-point conversion from the ten-yard line, a scheme last used in the
Stars Football League
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth mak ...
, the old
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
playoffs, and the second, reformed
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
. This proposal would have only been tested during the preseason.
* Offensive pass interference to be subject to video review.
Eastern resurgence
The East Division finished with a collective record of better than .500 for the first time since
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
New logo
On November 27, 2015, two days before the 103rd Grey Cup game, the CFL introduced its newest logo, its fourth in league history: A silver football-shaped design, with three laces signifying the three downs used in Canadian football on top, 'CFL' in block letters in the centre, and a half maple-leaf on the bottom. It replaces the 'leaf/football' logo that had been used since 2002.
Regular season
Structure
Teams play eighteen regular season games, playing two divisional opponents three times and all of the other teams twice. Teams are awarded two points for a win and one point for a tie. The top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, with the first place team gaining a bye to the divisional finals. A fourth place team in one division may qualify ahead of the third place team in the other division (the "Crossover"), if they earn more points in the season.
If a third-place team finishes in a tie with the fourth place team in the other division, the third place team automatically gets the playoff spot and there is no crossover.
If two or more teams in the same division are equal in points, the following tiebreakers apply:
# Most wins in all games
# Head to head winning percentage (matches won divided by all matches played)
# Head to head points difference
# Head to head points ratio
# Tiebreakers 3–5 applied sequentially to all divisional games
# Tiebreakers 4 and 5 applied sequentially to all league games
# Coin toss
Notes:
*1. If two clubs remain tied after other club(s) are eliminated during any step, tie breakers reverts to step 2.
Standings
''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points''
''Teams in bold are in playoff positions.
CFL playoffs
For the first time since the
1983 season, all three of the CFL's Ontario-based teams qualified for the playoffs. The Eskimos won their 14th
Grey Cup championship in franchise history, and their first since 2005.
Mike Reilly was named
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
after completing 21 of 35 pass attempts for 269 yards with two touchdown passes. He was also Edmonton's leading rusher at 66 yards.
Shamawd Chambers
Shamawd Chambers (born March 10, 1989) is a Canadian football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). After the 2011 CIS season, he was ranke ...
, who missed the majority of the 2015 season with a knee injury, received the
Dick Suderman Trophy
The Dick Suderman Trophy (french: Trophée Dick Suderman) for the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian (''Le Canadien le plus précieux de la Coupe Grey'') is awarded annually to the Canadian player deemed to have the best performance in the Grey Cup ...
as Most Valuable Canadian.
Playoff bracket
Award winners
The CFL changed their weekly awards format beginning with the 2015 season. The CFL now awards the top three players on performance, regardless of position or nationality. They also continued to award players on a monthly basis based on their performance within a set month.
CFL Top Performers of the Week
''Source''
CFL Top Performers of the Month
''Source''
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2015 CFL All-Stars
Offence
*QB – Henry Burris
Henry Armand Burris Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a gridiron football coach, former professional quarterback, and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
*RB – Tyrell Sutton
Tyrell DelShawn Sutton, (born December 19, 1986) is an American former professional gridiron football running back. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Northwestern. Sutton was ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*RB – Andrew Harris, BC Lions
*R – Eric Rogers, Calgary Stampeders
*R – Adarius Bowman
Adarius Bowman (born July 10, 1985) is a former American professional gridiron football wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Bowman has also been ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*R – Derel Walker
Derel Walker (born June 29, 1991) is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 and received the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 2015. He is ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*R – Emmanuel Arceneaux
Emmanuel Arceneaux (born September 17, 1987) is an American professional wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Alcorn State University.
Arceneaux signed as an undrafted free age ...
, BC Lions
*OT – Jovan Olafioye, BC Lions
*OT – SirVincent Rogers
SirVincent Rogers (born May 9, 1986) is a former gridiron football offensive lineman who played professionally for 12 years. He spent the bulk of his career with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he won the 104th Gr ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
*OG – Brendon LaBatte
Brendon LaBatte (born September 12, 1986) is a Canadian football guard with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted sixth overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2008 CFL Draft. He played CIS Football with t ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*OG – Spencer Wilson, Calgary Stampeders
*OC – Jon Gott
Jon Gott (born October 2, 1985) is a former Canadian football offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the fifth round of the 2008 CFL Draft. He played five seasons for the Stampeders before being traded to the RedBlacks fo ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
Defence
*DT – Almondo Sewell
Almondo Sewell (born January 16, 1987) is a professional gridiron football defensive tackle for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Akron and attended Hargrave Military ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*DT – Ted Laurent, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DE – Jamaal Westerman
Jamaal Akeem Westerman (born February 21, 1985) is a former American football defensive lineman who is currently a college football coach for Rutgers. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college footba ...
, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*DE – John Bowman, Montreal Alouettes
*LB – Adam Bighill
Adam Bighill (born October 16, 1988) is a gridiron football linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Bighill made his professional debut with the BC Lions in 2011. He played college football for the Central ...
, BC Lions
*LB – Winston Venable
Winston Venable (born March 31, 1987) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the running backs coach and player development director at Boise State University. He spent the majority of his professional career with th ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*LB – Simoni Lawrence
Simoni Lawrence (born February 1, 1989) is an American-born Canadian football linebacker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Minnesota.
Professional career St. Louis Rams
Lawrence was ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*CB – Abdul Kanneh, Ottawa Redblacks
*CB – John Ojo, Edmonton Eskimos
*DB – Emanuel Davis, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DB – Aaron Grymes
Aaron Grymes (born March 1, 1991) is a Canadian football defensive back for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Idaho. Grymes made his professional debut for the Edmonton Eskimos in 2013 and h ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*S – Craig Butler, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Special teams
*K – Rene Paredes
Rene Paredes (born May 15, 1985) is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Stampeders in 2014 and 2018 and is a fou ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*P – Richie Leone
Richie Leone (born March 10, 1992) is a gridiron football punter for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played collegiate football for the University of Houston. He has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Pit ...
, BC Lions
*ST – Brandon Banks
Brandon Desean Banks (born December 21, 1987) is an American Canadian football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He wa ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
''Source''[MADE OF STAR POWER: 2015 CFL ALL-STARS UNVEILED](_blank)
/ref>
2015 CFL Western All-Stars
Offence
*QB – Bo Levi Mitchell
Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)[Official Eastern Washingto ...](_blank)
, Calgary Stampeders
*RB – Jerome Messam
Jerome Messam (born April 2, 1985) is a former professional Canadian football running back. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*RB – Andrew Harris, BC Lions
*R – Eric Rogers, Calgary Stampeders
*R – Adarius Bowman
Adarius Bowman (born July 10, 1985) is a former American professional gridiron football wide receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Bowman has also been ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*R – Derel Walker
Derel Walker (born June 29, 1991) is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 and received the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 2015. He is ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*R – Emmanuel Arceneaux
Emmanuel Arceneaux (born September 17, 1987) is an American professional wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Alcorn State University.
Arceneaux signed as an undrafted free age ...
, BC Lions
*OT – Jovan Olafioye, BC Lions
*OT – D'Anthony Batiste
D'Anthony Batiste (born March 29, 1982) is an American football coach and former player who is the strength and conditioning assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He is a former offensive tackle for the Dalla ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*OG – Brendon LaBatte
Brendon LaBatte (born September 12, 1986) is a Canadian football guard with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted sixth overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2008 CFL Draft. He played CIS Football with t ...
, Saskatchewan Roughriders
*OG – Spencer Wilson, Calgary Stampeders
*OC – Pierre Lavertu, Calgary Stampeders
Defence
*DT – Almondo Sewell
Almondo Sewell (born January 16, 1987) is a professional gridiron football defensive tackle for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at the University of Akron and attended Hargrave Military ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*DT – Mic'hael Brooks
Mic'hael Goubron Brooks (born August 28, 1991) is a former Canadian football defensive tackle. He was most recently a member of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at East Carolina Universit ...
, BC Lions
*DE – Jamaal Westerman
Jamaal Akeem Westerman (born February 21, 1985) is a former American football defensive lineman who is currently a college football coach for Rutgers. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college footba ...
, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*DE – Charleston Hughes
Charleston Hughes (born December 14, 1983) is a professional Canadian football defensive end for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Calgary Stampeders as a street free agent in 2008 and won two ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*LB – Adam Bighill
Adam Bighill (born October 16, 1988) is a gridiron football linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Bighill made his professional debut with the BC Lions in 2011. He played college football for the Central ...
, BC Lions
*LB – Jeff Knox Jr., Saskatchewan Roughriders
*LB – Dexter McCoil
Dexter McCoil Sr. (born September 5, 1991) is a gridiron football coach and former safety, who is the current safeties coach for the Texas State Bobcats. He played college football at Tulsa. McCoil played professionally for the Los Angeles K ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*CB – Johnny Adams
Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...
, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*CB – John Ojo, Edmonton Eskimos
*DB – Ryan Phillips
Ryan Phillips (born November 15, 1982) is the defensive coordinator for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and a former professional Canadian football defensive back. He played most of his career with the BC Lions, where he has ...
, BC Lions
*DB – Aaron Grymes
Aaron Grymes (born March 1, 1991) is a Canadian football defensive back for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Idaho. Grymes made his professional debut for the Edmonton Eskimos in 2013 and h ...
, Edmonton Eskimos
*S – Josh Bell, Calgary Stampeders
Special teams
*K – Rene Paredes
Rene Paredes (born May 15, 1985) is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Stampeders in 2014 and 2018 and is a fou ...
, Calgary Stampeders
*P – Richie Leone
Richie Leone (born March 10, 1992) is a gridiron football punter for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played collegiate football for the University of Houston. He has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Pit ...
, BC Lions
*ST – Bo Lokombo, BC Lions
''Source''
2015 CFL Eastern All-Stars
Offence
*QB – Henry Burris
Henry Armand Burris Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a gridiron football coach, former professional quarterback, and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
*RB – Brandon Whitaker
Brandon Marcel Whitaker (born September 7, 1985) is a professional Canadian football running back who is currently a free agent, having most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed as an undra ...
, Toronto Argonauts
*RB – Tyrell Sutton
Tyrell DelShawn Sutton, (born December 19, 1986) is an American former professional gridiron football running back. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Northwestern. Sutton was ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*R – S. J. Green, Montreal Alouettes
*R – Chris Williams, Ottawa Redblacks
*R – Luke Tasker
Lucas Steele Tasker (born January 18, 1991) is a former Canadian football wide receiver and sports broadcaster. He spent the entirety of his seven-season Canadian Football League career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Tasker played college football ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*R – Brad Sinopoli
Bradley Sinopoli (born April 14, 1988) is a former Canadian football wide receiver who played for nine years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally a quarterback with the Calgary Stampeders before being converted to wide receive ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
*OT – SirVincent Rogers
SirVincent Rogers (born May 9, 1986) is a former gridiron football offensive lineman who played professionally for 12 years. He spent the bulk of his career with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he won the 104th Gr ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
*OT – Jeff Perrett
Jeff Perrett (born March 23, 1984) is a former Canadian football offensive tackle. Aside from spending the final off-season (2017) of his career with the Toronto Argonauts, Perrett spent the rest of his CFL career (2006-2016) with the Montreal Al ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*OG – Greg Van Roten, Toronto Argonauts
*OG – Ryan Bomben
Ryan Bomben (born May 16, 1987) is a professional Canadian football offensive guard who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a four-time East Division All-Star and ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*OC – Jon Gott
Jon Gott (born October 2, 1985) is a former Canadian football offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the fifth round of the 2008 CFL Draft. He played five seasons for the Stampeders before being traded to the RedBlacks fo ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
Defence
*DT – Ted Laurent, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DT – Cleyon Laing, Toronto Argonauts
*DE – Justin Capicciotti, Ottawa Redblacks
*DE – John Bowman, Montreal Alouettes
*LB – Winston Venable
Winston Venable (born March 31, 1987) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the running backs coach and player development director at Boise State University. He spent the majority of his professional career with th ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*LB – Simoni Lawrence
Simoni Lawrence (born February 1, 1989) is an American-born Canadian football linebacker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Minnesota.
Professional career St. Louis Rams
Lawrence was ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*LB – Greg Jones, Toronto Argonauts
*CB – Abdul Kanneh, Ottawa Redblacks
*CB – Jovon Johnson
Jovon Johnson (born November 2, 1983) is a former professional Canadian football defensive back. He was the winner of the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 2011 while with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, becoming the first defensive bac ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
*DB – Emanuel Davis, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*DB – Jerrell Gavins, Ottawa Redblacks
*S – Craig Butler, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Special teams
*K – Justin Medlock
Justin Charles Medlock (born October 23, 1983) is an American professional football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college foo ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
*P – Boris Bede
Boris Bede (born November 20, 1989) is a French-born Canadian football placekicker and punter for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He first enrolled at Tiffin University before transferring to Université Laval. Bede ...
, Montreal Alouettes
*ST – Brandon Banks
Brandon Desean Banks (born December 21, 1987) is an American Canadian football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He wa ...
, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
''Source''
2015 CFL Awards
* CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...
– Henry Burris
Henry Armand Burris Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a gridiron football coach, former professional quarterback, and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the ...
(QB), Ottawa Redblacks
* CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Brad Sinopoli
Bradley Sinopoli (born April 14, 1988) is a former Canadian football wide receiver who played for nine years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally a quarterback with the Calgary Stampeders before being converted to wide receive ...
(R), Ottawa Redblacks
* CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually awarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian football League. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada along with the head coaches in the CFL. ...
– Adam Bighill
Adam Bighill (born October 16, 1988) is a gridiron football linebacker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Bighill made his professional debut with the BC Lions in 2011. He played college football for the Central ...
(LB), BC Lions
* CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award The Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award is annually awarded to the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Leo Dandurand Trophy winner from the East Division, and the DeMarco-Becket Memor ...
– SirVincent Rogers
SirVincent Rogers (born May 9, 1986) is a former gridiron football offensive lineman who played professionally for 12 years. He spent the bulk of his career with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he won the 104th Gr ...
(OT), Ottawa Redblacks
* CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually awarded to the player judged to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner from the East Division, and the ...
– Derel Walker
Derel Walker (born June 29, 1991) is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 and received the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 2015. He is ...
(R), Edmonton Eskimos
* John Agro Special Teams Award The John Agro Special Teams Award is presented to the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams player that is voted by his peers. The award is named in honour of John Agro, co-founder (in 1965) of the Canadian Football League Players' Association, with ...
– Brandon Banks
Brandon Desean Banks (born December 21, 1987) is an American Canadian football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He wa ...
(R), Hamilton Tiger-Cats
* Tom Pate Memorial Award Tom Pate Memorial Award, selected annually by the Canadian Football League Players' Association, is awarded to a player with outstanding sportsmanship and someone who has made a significant contribution to his team, his community and Association. T ...
– Henry Burris
Henry Armand Burris Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a gridiron football coach, former professional quarterback, and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the ...
(QB), Ottawa Redblacks
* Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy The Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy is presented annually to the Canadian Football League (CFL) player "
who best demonstrates the attributes of Canada's veterans in times of war, peace and military conflict." The award was first presented in 2010, a ...
– Jeff Perrett
Jeff Perrett (born March 23, 1984) is a former Canadian football offensive tackle. Aside from spending the final off-season (2017) of his career with the Toronto Argonauts, Perrett spent the rest of his CFL career (2006-2016) with the Montreal Al ...
(OT), Montreal Alouettes
* Annis Stukus Trophy The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The Trophy is named afte ...
– Rick Campbell
Rick Campbell (born December 20, 1970) is an American-born Canadian football head coach and co-general manager for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He was the Calgary Stampeders' defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2013 and was also an ...
, Ottawa Redblacks
* Commissioner's Award The Commissioner's Award is presented annually by the Commissioner of the Canadian Football League to an individual or individuals who have demonstrated dedication and made a significant contribution to Canadian Football. The award was first introd ...
– Bernie Custis
Bernard Eugene Custis (September 23, 1928 – February 23, 2017) was an American and Canadian football player who went on to a distinguished coaching career. He is known for having been the first black professional quarterback in the modern era ...
, CFL's first Black Quarterback
* Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award – Bob Irving, voice of Winnipeg Blue Bombers
References
{{CFL seasons
Canadian Football League seasons
2015 in Canadian football