CFL news in 2026
Salary cap
According to the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2026 salary cap is scheduled to be at least $6,162,365, largely as a result of the revenue sharing increase from 2025. [3] [2] [4] [5] Including non-football related services of $110,000, the total salary expenditure cap will be at or above $6,272,365. [3] This will be the third season that players will receive revenue sharing, which will be set at 27% this season. [2] The minimum player salary will be set at $70,000, which remains unchanged since 2023. [2] [4]
Rule changes
On September 22, 2025, league commissioner Stewart Johnston announced that a series of significant rule changes would come into effect for the this season. [6]
- Modified rouge: A single will no longer be awarded if it is kicked past the dead line or through the side of the endzone. A single can only be scored if a punt, field goal, or kickoff settles in the end zone, and the returner fails to take it out or takes a knee in the end zone.
- 35-second play clock: Teams will have 35 seconds to begin the next play after the previous play is whistled dead, which is more similar to the National Football League rules. Previously, following a play, the referees placed the ball and a 20-second play clock was initiated by an official, leading to inconsistencies based on the officiating team.
- Opposite-field team benches: To facilitate the play clock change, all teams will be required to have their bench areas on opposite sidelines of the field, reducing the distance required for substitutions. In the 2025 season, the BC Lions and all East Division teams had team benches side-by-side on one side of the field.
Relocated games
The home stadiums of the BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts are scheduled to host 2026 FIFA World Cup games from June 12, 2026, to July 7, 2026, resulting in those stadiums being unavailable for most of June and July. [7]
On August 15, 2025, it was announced that the Argonauts would play one home game in each of Hamilton Stadium against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Mosaic Stadium against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Princess Auto Stadium against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers while the World Cup is being played. [7] These games would be played in the first half of the season. [7] The team's remaining six home games will be scheduled toward the second half of the season. [8]
On September 26, 2025, the Lions announced that they would play their first two regular season home games in Kelowna at the Apple Bowl with an expanded capacity of 17,500 seats. [9] The Lions also announced that their pre-season game would be played in Langford at Starlight Stadium for the second consecutive season. [9]
Broadcasting
In Canada, the CFL will continue to be broadcast primarily on TSN (in English) and RDS (in French) across all platforms as part of their current contract, which are reported to have been extended through 2026. [10] [11] Games will be broadcast in the United States by CBS Sports Network with a deal also set to expire after this season. [12]
Outside of North America, the league's streaming platform, CFL+, will stream all regular season games for free (along with games not carried by CBS Sports Network in the United States). [13] Most pre-season games will be streamed worldwide for free on CFL+. [13] Radio broadcast rights belong to team's local stations and SiriusXM. [13]
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