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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of modern professional

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

. Officially, it was the 65th season of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

hosted the

110th Grey Cup The 110th Grey Cup was played to determine the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2023 CFL season, 2023 season. The game was played on November 19, 2023, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, between the West ...

on November 19, 2023. 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. Seve ...

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 a Canadian former professional football player and executive who served as the 14th commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Ambrosie played professionally as an offensive guard for the CFL's Ca ...

announced that the playoff games (Division Semi-Final and Division Final games) would be moved from Sundays to Saturdays, while the

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 C ...

. 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 tent ...

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 based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

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 19 ...

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 perm ...

( Saint Mary’s University) in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, 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 agreem ...

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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

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 () 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 between the winners ...

was played at

Tim Hortons Field Hamilton Stadium (originally Tim Hortons Field) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 2014 with a capacity of 22,500, it was built as a replacement on the same site as the previous stadium, name ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, 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 continued to be broadcast on TSN 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 digital cable and satellite 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 ...

, who would 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

2023 CFL All-Stars

Offence

*QB – Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts *RB – Brady Oliveira, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R – Dalton Schoen, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R – Tim White, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *R – Keon Hatcher, BC Lions *R – Austin Mack, Montreal Alouettes *R – Reggie Begelton, Calgary Stampeders *OT – Dejon Allen, Toronto Argonauts *OT – Jermarcus Hardrick, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG – Ryan Hunter, Toronto Argonauts *OG – Patrick Neufeld, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *C – Darius Ciraco, Toronto Argonauts

Defence

*DT – Casey Sayles, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *DT – Mike Rose, Calgary Stampeders *DE – Mathieu Betts, BC Lions *DE –

Willie Jefferson Willie Hebert Jefferson III (born January 31, 1991) is an American professional Canadian football, football defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Jefferson is a three-time Grey Cup champion, winning w ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *LB – Wynton McManis, Toronto Argonauts *LB –

Micah Awe Micah Awe (born January 4, 1994) is a Nigerian professional football linebacker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Texas Tech. Awe has also been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York J ...

, Calgary Stampeders *CLB –

Adarius Pickett Adarius Pickett (born September 5, 1996) is an American professional football defensive back for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UCLA. Early life His father Antoine Pickett, played mino ...

, Toronto Argonauts *CB – Demerio Houston, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *CB – Garry Peters, BC Lions *HB – Robertson Daniel, Toronto Argonauts *HB – T. J. Lee, BC Lions *S – Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Montreal Alouettes

Special teams

*K – Sean Whyte, BC Lions *P – Richie Leone, Ottawa Redblacks *ST – Javon Leake, 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, 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 startin ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *RB – Brady Oliveira, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R – Dalton Schoen, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *R – Keon Hatcher, BC Lions *R – Reggie Begelton, Calgary Stampeders *R – Alexander Hollins, BC Lions *R –

Nic Demski Nic Demski (born December 14, 1993) is a Canadian football slotback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Demski won the 107th and 108th Grey Cups with his hometown Blue Bombers, both times defeating the Hamilton T ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OT – Jermarcus Hardrick, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OT – Stanley Bryant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG – Patrick Neufeld, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG –

Sukh Chungh Sukhjivan Singh Chungh (born March 4, 1992) is a Canadian professional football offensive lineman. He played CIS football at University of Calgary. Early life Chungh's parents immigrated to Canada from India. He began playing football in the nint ...

, BC Lions *C –

Sean McEwen Sean McEwen (born June 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional Canadian football, football offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). University career McEwen played CIS football for the Calgary Dinos ...

, Calgary Stampeders

Defence

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

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *LB –

, Calgary Stampeders *LB – Larry Dean, Saskatchewan Roughriders *CLB –

Emmanuel Rugamba Emmanuel "Manny" Rugamba (born March 10, 1998) is a Rwandan-American professional gridiron football defensive back for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Miami (OH) and was signed as an undraf ...

, BC Lions *CB – Demerio Houston, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *CB – Garry Peters, 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, Saskatchewan Roughriders *ST – Mario Alford, Saskatchewan Roughriders ''Source''

2023 CFL Eastern All-Stars

Offence

*QB – Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts *RB – A.J. Ouellette, Toronto Argonauts *R –

DaVaris Daniels DaVaris Daniels (born December 18, 1992) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a three-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Calgary Stampeders in 2018 an ...

, Toronto Argonauts *R – Austin Mack, Montreal Alouettes *R – Tim White, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *R – Damonte Coxie, Toronto Argonauts *R –

Justin Hardy Justin Hardy (born December 18, 1991) is an American professional 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 ...

, Ottawa Redblacks *OT – Dejon Allen, Toronto Argonauts *OT – Nick Callender, Montreal Alouettes *OG – Brandon Revenberg, 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 – Wynton McManis, Toronto Argonauts *LB – Tyrice Beverette, Montreal Alouettes *CLB –

, Toronto Argonauts *CB – Qwan'tez Stiggers, Toronto Argonauts *CB –

Brandin Dandridge Brandin Dandridge (born August 19, 1996) is an American professional gridiron football, football defensive back who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college footbal ...

, Ottawa Redblacks *HB – Robertson Daniel, Toronto Argonauts *HB – Wesley Sutton, Montreal Alouettes *S – Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Montreal Alouettes

Special teams

*K – Boris Bede, Toronto Argonauts *P – Richie Leone, Ottawa Redblacks *ST – Javon Leake, Toronto Argonauts ''Source''

2023 CFL Awards

* Tom Pate Memorial Award – Brett Lauther (K),

* Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy – 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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

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 (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

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

References

{{Authority control Canadian Football League seasons 2023 in Canadian football