Tony Tompkins (born November 21, 1982) is a former

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wide receiver and

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player. Standing at only 5'8", Tompkins is just one of many diminutive kick return specialists to have found success in the CFL. After attending

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, Tompkins signed with the Edmonton Eskimos as the replacement for former kick returner Winston October. As a rookie in 2005, Tompkins participated in the

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, where he set a record for the longest kickoff return in a Grey Cup game by taking the ball 96 yards for a key touchdown, helping the Eskimos take victory. After the Grey Cup, Tompkins believed that he was entering his option year, and as such that he would have a chance to try and sign with a

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team. Tompkins, who did not have an agent when he signed his first contract, in fact signed a ''two''-year contract with a club option, thus requiring him to report to the Eskimos for one more season than he expected. Tompkins's agent Alex Balic attempted to persuade the Eskimos to release Tompkins but they refused. Tompkins and Balic briefly considered legal action, but in the end Tompkins agreed to return to the Eskimos for the

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. Tompkins made $40,000

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with the Eskimos in 2006, well below the NFL league minimum and returned 75 punts for 501 yards, 57 kickoffs for 1,145 yards, and ten missed field goal returns for 209 yards, finishing with the Eskimos’ most all-purpose yards with 1,855. In the

2007 CFL season The 2007 CFL season was the 54th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 50th season of the Canadian Football League, and many special events were held to commemorate the event. Regular-season play began on June 28, 2007 at the Rogers Centre ...

, Tompkins led the Eskimos in punt return yardage, kickoff returns, and missed field goal return yards and finished the year second on the team in all-purpose yards. In February 2008, Tompkins signed as a free-agent with the Alouettes. He was released by the Alouettes in June 2008.

References

1982 births Living people Canadian football return specialists Canadian football wide receivers Edmonton Elks players Montreal Alouettes players Players of American football from Port Arthur, Texas Players of Canadian football from Texas {{Canadianfootball-widereceiver-stub