The Canadian Football League Players' Association (or CFLPA) represents

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 ...

players in 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 ...

(CFL). The association was established in 1965, when local lawyer John Agro became concerned by the number of

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 ...

players approaching him with legal questions about contracts, medical coverage and pensions. All CFLPA presidents have been active or retired CFL players. The first president was

Gary Schreider Gary Edward Schreider (April 21, 1934 – January 22, 2011) was a Canadian football player who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ottawa Rough Riders and BC Lions. He won the Grey Cup with Ottawa in 1960. He played university football at Quee ...

, who had recently retired as a player for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

upon the union's founding. The current president (since 2020) is Solomon Elimimian. In June 2010, the CFLPA and the CFL announced the details of a new four-year

collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

. The CFL's annual

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 ...

, voted on by the players, is named for CFLPA co-founder and long-time legal counsel John Agro, QC.

Presidents

(1965–1970) * Mike Wadsworth (1970–1971) * Greg Findlay (1971–1972) * George Reed (1972–1981) *

Ed Chalupka Edward Chalupka (February 23, 1947 – November 17, 2019) was a Canadian Football League (CFL) player. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. Calupka played his entire professional career as a guard for the Hamilton Tig ...

(1981–1986) * George Reed (1986–1993) *

Dan Ferrone Dan Ferrone (born April 3, 1958) is a former professional Canadian football player. He played with the Toronto Argonauts for 8 seasons, interrupted by one season with the Calgary Stampeders, in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was an offens ...

(1993–2000) *

Stu Laird Stuart Laird (born July 8, 1960) is a former professional Canadian football defensive tackle who played thirteen seasons for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a graduate of the University of Calgary where he was a ...

(2000–2012) *

Mike Morreale Mike Morreale (born August 10, 1971) is the Commissioner and CEO of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He is a former award-winning receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Early years A graduate of Cardinal Newman Secondary Scho ...

(2012–2014) *

Scott Flory Scott Flory (born July 15, 1976) is the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan's Huskies football team. He is also a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played for 15 years for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian ...

(2014–2016) *

Jeff Keeping Jeff Keeping (born July 19, 1982) is a former professional offensive lineman/centre of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and is currently serving as the Canadian Football League Players' Association's President. Jeff was elected President of the C ...

(2016–2020) *

Solomon Elimimian Solomon Elimimian (born October 21, 1986) is a former Canadian football linebacker and the current president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). He spent nine seasons with the BC Lions and was named the CFL's Most Outs ...

(2020–present)

Website

https://cflpa.com/

References

Canadian Football League Sports trade unions Sports organizations of Canada Sports organizations established in 1965 Trade unions established in 1965 1965 establishments in Canada {{NorthAm-trade-union-stub