The 2023 CFL season was the 69th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of modern professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, 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 sco ...

. Officially, it was the 65th season of the

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 ci ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

hosted the 110th Grey Cup on November 19. The regular season began on June 8, and ended on October 28, with 18 games played per team over 21 weeks.

League business

Salary cap

According to the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2023

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 ...

is set at $5,450,000 (average $121,111 per active roster spot) As per the agreement, the cap is fixed and will not vary with league revenue performance until 2024. The minimum player salary is set at $70,000.

Starter ratio

Beginning this season, teams are required to start eight National players as opposed to just seven in years prior. However, one of those players can be a "Nationalized American" player that has spent three years with the same team or five years in the CFL. Originally, the league was planning to allow teams to also have one more Nationalized American on offence and one on defence substitute up to 49% of the snaps for a National player; however, this was later changed as the total number of snaps in game cannot be accurately determined during a game. Instead, teams must indicate the designated Nationalized Americans and the designated Nationals that that player may replace for a maximum of 23 plays.

Scheduling

During his commissioner's state of the league address on November 18, 2022,

Randy Ambrosie Randy Ambrosie (born March 16, 1963) is the 14th and current commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Ambrosie played Canadian football professionally as an offensive guard for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts, and Edmo ...

announced that the playoff games (Division Semi-Final and Division Final games) would be moved from Sundays to Saturdays, while the 110th Grey Cup game would remain on Sunday. They will be the first playoff games on Saturdays since the

2008 CFL season The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 51st season for the Canadian Football League. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup ...

. The

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 ...

series continued with 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 ...

hosting 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 1 ...

Huskies Stadium Huskies Stadium is a Canadian football stadium at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, home to the Saint Mary's Huskies. It had a promoted capacity of 9,000 to 11,000 that is achievable via temporary seating, but the actual perman ...

( Saint Mary’s University) in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, on Saturday, July 29. This was the first regular season game held in Halifax after the city hosted a pre-season match in 2005. In the most recent collective bargaining agreement, the league had the option of moving this season's schedule by up to 30 days earlier. However, the league decided to keep the dates consistent with previous years when the 2023 schedule was released on December 13, 2022, with the season opening game on June 8.

Partnership with Genius Sports

During the off-season the league and

Genius Sports Genius Sports is a sports data and technology company that provides data management, video streaming and integrity services to sports leagues, bookmakers and media companies. In April 2021, Genius Sports completed a business combination agreeme ...

launched a new fantasy platform called 'CFL Gamezone'. In May 2023, before the pre-season, the CFL announced that it would be transitioning its stats tracking platform from New Jersey-based firm SharpHat to Genius Sports, called 'CFL LiveStats'. As the league schedule moved through the pre-season and into the regular season, the launch of the new stat tracking platform was delayed. There was no live data during games, player profiles were blank, and season/game stats were only available for download as a PDF file type. On June 22, 2023, Commissioner Randy Ambrosie addressed this issue asking for patience from fans as the league transitions. The state of the stat tracking platform and the commissioner's response were criticized by fans and the media. As of late July 2023, CFL LiveStats was not operational.

Rule changes

On May 8, the league announced a series of minor rule changes which focused on improving "health and safety and to making refinements to certain nuances in the game." * The requirement for the ball to be touched prior to ruling a rouge on a kickoff has been removed * A safety has been added to the options for a holding penalty in the team’s own goal area * The defensive formation has been restricted on kick plays * Avoidable contact with an official * Move the drive start position up five yards in additional scenarios * Teams cannot have two players wearing 0 and 00

Health and safety

On May 16, the league announced new health and safety measures: * Guardian caps – defensive linemen, running backs and linebackers will be required to wear a guardian cap during training camps and contact practices during the regular season. * Medical tents – teams will have collapsible medical tents on the sidelines to allow players to be medically assessed during the game. * Pre-game medical meeting – medical personnel, security, venue staff, and game presentation departments will have a meeting before each game to align on the medical processes should there be any issues during the game. * Medical staff training – staff from all nine clubs gathered in the off-season to complete additional advanced professional development courses. * Research – the league is continuing to partner with universities across the country to better understand equipment and technologies in the prevention and rehabilitation of injuries.

Coaching changes

Player movement

Free agency

The 2023

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

period officially began on February 14 at noon ET. Pending free agents and teams were able to negotiate offers for one week starting February 5 and ending February 12. All formal offers to a player during this time were sent to both the league and the players union and could not be rescinded.

Regular season

Standings

The top three teams in each division advance to the playoffs, with the division winners receiving a bye to the division finals and home-field advantage for the game. The second and third place teams in each division will compete in a division semi-final to advance to the division final with the 2nd place teams in each division receiving home-field advantage. The CFL additionally employs a "crossover rule" where, if the fourth place team in one division has a better record than the third place team in the other division, the former qualifies for the playoffs, while the latter does not.

Postseason

The

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

was played at

Tim Hortons Field Tim Hortons Field, nicknamed "The Donut Box", is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Built as a replacement for Ivor Wynne Stadium, Tim Hortons Field is primarily used for Canadian football and soccer, and is the home of the Ha ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, on November 19. The Montreal Alouettes upset the favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28–24, to win their first Grey Cup since 2010.

Playoff bracket

Broadcasting

The CFL continues to be broadcast on

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

and RDS across all platforms in Canada as part of their current contract. The broadcast rights were reported to have been extended through 2025. In late April, the CFL announced a new partnership with

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known as ...

, who will broadcast 34 games in the United States. The deal was reportedly worth $1 million dollars per year, with each team receiving around $100,000 in compensation. The deal replaced the former partnership with ESPN. The CFL livestreamed all games in the United States not broadcast by CBS on their own platform, dubbed CFL+, for free. A small number of preseason games were broadcast on TSN and RDS; the remainder of the normally un-broadcast preseason games (as well as all international broadcasts of the preseason games) were shown for free on a league-operated streaming platform called CFL Preseason Live.

Award winners

CFL Honour Roll

Pro Football Focus

3DownNation Best of the Week

2023 CFL All-Stars

Offence

*QB – Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts *RB –

Brady Oliveira Brady Oliveira (born August 15, 1997) is a Canadian football running back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). After finishing his career among the University of North Dakota's all-time leading rushers, he was dra ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R –

Dalton Schoen Dalton Schoen (born October 13, 1996) is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Kansas State. Schoen has also been a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R – Tim White, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *R –

Keon Hatcher Keon Hatcher (born September 11, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He first played football at Owasso High School in Oklahoma. He then played college football at Arkansas and sig ...

, BC Lions *R –

Austin Mack Austin Mack (born August 31, 1997) is an American professional gridiron football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He signed as an undrafted free ...

, Montreal Alouettes *R –

Reggie Begelton Reggie Begelton (born August 31, 1993) is a gridiron football wide receiver for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Lamar Cardinals football, Lamar. He has also played for the Green Bay Pack ...

, Calgary Stampeders *OT –

Dejon Allen Dejon Allen (born May 5, 1994) is a professional gridiron football offensive tackle for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at University of Hawaii. College career Hawai'i Warriors In 201 ...

, Toronto Argonauts *OT –

Jermarcus Hardrick Jermarcus "Yoshi" Hardrick (born May 30, 1990) is a professional gridiron football offensive lineman for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a Grey Cup champion as a member of the 107th Grey Cup champions and is ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG – Ryan Hunter, Toronto Argonauts *OG –

Patrick Neufeld Patrick Neufeld (born December 26, 1988) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion having won the 107th Grey Cup and 108th Grey C ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *C – Darius Ciraco, Toronto Argonauts

Defence

*DT – Casey Sayles, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *DT – Mike Rose, Calgary Stampeders *DE –

Mathieu Betts Mathieu Betts (born March 22, 1995) is a professional Canadian football defensive linemen for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Betts is the only player in U Sports football history to have won four major individual awards after ...

, BC Lions *DE –

Willie Jefferson Willie Hebert Jefferson III (born January 31, 1991) is a Canadian football defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Jefferson is a 3-time Grey Cup champion, winning his first ring at the 103rd Grey Cup wi ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *LB –

Wynton McManis Wynton McManis (born September 20, 1994) is a gridiron football linebacker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at University of Memphis and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undraft ...

, Toronto Argonauts *LB –

Micah Awe Micah Awe (born January 4, 1994) is a Nigerian-born Canadian football linebacker who is a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Texas Tech. Awe has also been a member of the Tampa Ba ...

, Calgary Stampeders *CLB – Adarius Pickett, Toronto Argonauts *CB – Demerio Houston, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *CB –

Garry Peters Garry Lorne Peters (born October 9, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and head coach who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers an ...

, BC Lions *HB –

Robertson Daniel Robertson DeShawn Daniel (born October 1, 1991) is a professional gridiron football defensive back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at BYU. Daniel was signed by the Oakland Raiders a ...

, Toronto Argonauts *HB – T. J. Lee, BC Lions *S – Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Montreal Alouettes

Special teams

*K – Sean Whyte, BC Lions *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 ...

, Ottawa Redblacks *ST –

Javon Leake Javon Leake (born August 1, 1998) is a professional gridiron football running back and return specialist for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He initially signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants in ...

, Toronto Argonauts ''Source''

2023 CFL Western All-Stars

Offence

*QB –

Zach Collaros Zachary J. Collaros (born August 27, 1988) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Collaros won the 107th Grey Cup and 108th Grey Cup as the starting quarterba ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *RB –

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R –

, BC Lions *R –

, Calgary Stampeders *R –

Alexander Hollins Alexander Hollins (born November 24, 1996) is an American gridiron football wide receiver for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Eastern Illinois. Hollins has also been a member of the Minnesota Vik ...

, BC Lions *R – Nic Demski, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OT –

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OT – Stanley Bryant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG –

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG –

Sukh Chungh Sukhjivan Singh Chungh (born March 4, 1992) is a Canadian football offensive lineman for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played CIS football at University of Calgary and attended Terry Fox Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, ...

, BC Lions *C –

Sean McEwen Sean McEwen (born June 27, 1993) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played CIS football for the Calgary Dinos. Professional career Toronto Argonauts McEw ...

, Calgary Stampeders

Defence

*DT – Mike Rose, Calgary Stampeders *DT – Woody Baron, BC Lions *DE –

, BC Lions *DE –

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *LB –

, Calgary Stampeders *LB – Larry Dean, Saskatchewan Roughriders *CLB – Emmanuel Rugamba, BC Lions *CB – Demerio Houston, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *CB –

, BC Lions *HB – T. J. Lee, BC Lions *HB – Evan Holm, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *S – Brandon Alexander, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Special teams

*K – Sean Whyte, BC Lions *P –

Adam Korsak Adam Korsak (born 31 October 1997) is an Australian gridiron football punter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The all-time NCAA record-holder ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *ST –

Mario Alford Mario Alford (born February 25, 1992) is an American gridiron football wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at West Virginia. Professional career Cincinnati Bengals Al ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders ''Source''

2023 CFL Eastern All-Stars

Offence

*QB – Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts *RB –

A.J. Ouellette A. J. Ouellette (born July 20, 1995) is an American professional gridiron football running back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). College career Ouellette played college football for the Ohio Bobcats from 2014 to 20 ...

, Toronto Argonauts *R –

DaVaris Daniels DaVaris Daniels (born December 18, 1992) is a professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Notre Dame. After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, ...

, Toronto Argonauts *R –

, Montreal Alouettes *R – Tim White, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *R –

Damonte Coxie Damonte Coxie (born November 28, 1996) is a professional gridiron football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). University career After using a redshirt season in 2016, Coxie played college football f ...

, Toronto Argonauts *R –

Justin Hardy Justin Hardy (born December 18, 1991) is a gridiron football wide receiver for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college footba ...

, Ottawa Redblacks *OT –

, Toronto Argonauts *OT – Nick Callender, Montreal Alouettes *OG –

Brandon Revenberg Brandon Revenberg (born December 16, 1992) is a Canadian football offensive lineman for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). College career He played college football at Grand Valley State Grand Valley State Univer ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *OG – Ryan Hunter, Toronto Argonauts *C – Darius Ciraco, Toronto Argonauts

Defence

*DT – Casey Sayles, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *DT – Mustafa Johnson, Montreal Alouettes *DE – Folarin Orimolade, Toronto Argonauts *DE – Bryce Carter, Ottawa Redblacks *LB –

, Toronto Argonauts *LB – Tyrice Beverette, Montreal Alouettes *CLB – Adarius Pickett, Toronto Argonauts *CB – Qwan'tez Stiggers, Toronto Argonauts *CB – Brandin Dandridge, Ottawa Redblacks *HB –

, Toronto Argonauts *HB – Wesley Sutton, Montreal Alouettes *S – Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Montreal Alouettes

Special teams

*K –

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 ...

, Toronto Argonauts *P –

, Ottawa Redblacks *ST –

, Toronto Argonauts ''Source''

2023 CFL Awards

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. Th ...

–

Brett Lauther Brett Lauther (born November 4, 1990) is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Holds the highest field goal percentage in Saskatchewan Roughriders History. (Minimum 100 ...

(K),

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 ...

– Brayden Lenius (WR),

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 ...

– Bob Young,

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

owner * Hugh Campbell Distinguished Leadership Award – George Hopkins,

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-old ...

equipment manager * Jane Mawby Tribute Award - Laurence Pontbriand, League Office's Senior Manager of Football & Officiating Developement

References

{{CFL seasons Canadian Football League seasons 2023 in Canadian football