CFL Commissioner Stuart Johnston joined The SportsCage on the Western Pizza Guest Hotline to discuss groundbreaking changes coming to the CFL. The interview covered infrastructure modifications, gameplay innovations, and Johnston’s strategic vision for modernizing Canadian football.

Johnston shared insights on moving goalposts, eliminating the rouge on kickoffs, implementing automatic play clocks, and separating team benches.

Moving Goalposts to Create More Scoring

Johnston revealed data showing quarterbacks avoid throwing over the middle of the end zone due to goalpost obstruction.

“We looked at the data of how many pass attempts have been to the left third of the end zone from, call it the goal line, to 15 yards deep in the end zone. How many in the center and how many on the right third of that end zone? And it is overwhelming how many attempts and completions for a touchdown are on the right third and the left third. And it’s almost half, and more than, or less than half, attempts and completions over the middle. And it doesn’t surprise you. I think you use the words common sense. Of course, quarterbacks aren’t eyeing over the middle. They have to dodge an obstruction. And we take that out. We think we are opening up the middle of the end zone. And again, this is where our stats tell us, We think we’re going to grow completions in the end zone by 10%, and that can result in at least 60, 6-0, 60 more touchdowns per year.”

Infrastructure Changes Required for 2027 Implementation

The commissioner explained why goalpost relocation cannot happen immediately despite fan enthusiasm.

“It is no small task, but it’s a manageable task. And once the new footings for the new location of the goal posts are settled, it’s actually relatively straightforward to transition or transform a field back and forth. So for example, those stadiums where our CFL clubs share the field with the U-Sport team of that city, if U-Sport does not adopt these changes, that’s okay. We’ll just move the goal post back and forth and repaint the field the different configuration. So once we get there, it’s a little more straightforward. Having said that, we do want to work with those folks who’ve got different states of their turf currently. Some are stitched, Some are painted. And then obviously, we’ve got to work out, we’ve got to have discussions or further our discussions with the… Sometimes we aren’t the owner of the stadium. A city might be the owner of a stadium, or the University might be the owner of the stadium. So we’re just going to work out those details as well.”

Johnston acknowledges the complexity of coordinating with multiple stakeholders including cities, universities, and amateur football organizations. The two-year timeline allows proper planning for stadiums that host both CFL and U-Sport teams.

Addressing Game Pace with 35-Second Play Clock

Johnston addressed concerns about losing late-game excitement with new timing rules.

“Well, I think that please don’t be concerned about the ability for comebacks at the end of the game, which, however, I might argue the one thing we don’t have at the end of our games is a frenzy. That’s not how I would describe the end of our games. We have a great ability for a team two scores down to come back in the last three minutes because we stopped the clock at every possible moment. Hamilton this past weekend, they had a drive and completed with a last second field goal to win. They got the ball with a minute twelve on the clock. It took 11 minutes in real-time for that drive to go to completion. That’s not a frenzy. That’s a casual meandering, is how I would call that.”

The automatic 35-second clock aims to create urgency while maintaining comeback opportunities.

Separating Team Benches for Safety and Efficiency

Johnston explained the dual purpose behind putting teams on opposite sidelines.

“I won’t put that at the very top. I do think the uprights moving was the very top. That was the catalyst that drove a lot of this. However, in terms of bench on the opposite side, I’m going to say the mitigation or even elimination of the powder keg that can be there when you get professional athletes in a very excited state so close to each other, is a wonderful byproduct of the first objective. And that was, I need these teams to be able to make their substitutions efficiently because of the 35 second automatic reset clock we’re introducing. I can’t have a team buried all the way down near one end zone, trying to send a lineman 70 yards to the other side within 35 seconds and start the play.”

The change serves both practical and safety purposes. Teams can substitute players more efficiently with the new play clock while avoiding potential confrontations between opposing players on shared sidelines.

Expansion Remains on Middle Burner

When asked about potential expansion to Halifax or American investment, Johnston clarified the league’s current priorities.

“I’ll leave it at this. You’ve asked me this question before, and I think my answer has been, Hey, expansion is not a top priority. It’s, of course, an absolute objective. You can It depends maybe today what a top priority was for me, and I’ll continue to focus on things like we did today and things like you suggested with the divisions. Expansion is always going to be, at least on the middle burner, of what’s happening. And we receive a lot of incoming calls from Canadians and international, I’ll say, folks who are interested in our league. So I can tell you, things are always cooking, but we’ve learned our lesson. Let’s let it cook a little longer before we get too excited.”

The commissioner confirms the league receives interest from Canadian and international investors. However, rule modernization and structural improvements take precedence over expansion plans, suggesting the league learned from previous expansion experiences.

Commissioner’s Approach to Change

Johnston emphasized his urgency in implementing improvements rather than waiting for traditional timing.

“I have a few reasons, and I get it. Some people will call it odd, and why don’t you wait for the off-season? A couple of reasons. One is these changes we’re making in 2027 actually require infrastructure change. So I want to make sure that everyone’s aware we’re working on this. We’re going to work with our turf. We’re going to work with our goalposts and manage the changeover for how we’re going to rework and re-imagine our stadium infrastructure. So I wanted to give enough time for that. Secondly, I think amateur football would appreciate a full year and a half and not me just delaying for a few months for the sake of delaying for a few months. I think it’s great to get this out there so amateur football can start thinking about it. They may not adopt these rules, but at least to give them time to think about it. And then finally, I’m just What I was going to say, guys, get used to it. When I’m excited about something and I couldn’t be more excited about these changes, I’m not waiting. Let’s go. Let’s work with pace and let’s move our league forward.”

Johnston’s hasn’t wasted any time in his 151 days in office. It would be interesting to know what is his 10 year vision. This is only phase one. Nothing mentioned about 3 down vs 4 down football in this interview.

Commissioner Stuart Johnston’s interview reveals a data-driven approach to modernizing the CFL. The changes target scoring increases, game pace improvements, and player safety while maintaining Canadian football’s unique characteristics.

The board of governors unanimously approved the complete package without modifications. Fans can access the full interview below.