Sports figures and celebrities make a boatload of money. That’s the general thought out there, but really that’s in the major leagues set up around the world. This depends on the sport as well. Despite their prowess, I don’t think that a player on the world cricket league makes as much as a top NFL player, and that isn’t right, but that’s the way of things and has been these past four decades or so. But what about leagues like the CFL? Today we’ll be taking a look at just how much these players make for a single season.

The CFL Salaries

First of all, the CFL in Canada is considered big business for sure. It isn’t at the level that the NFL is just yet, but the salary standards are indeed quite high regardless.

The CFL is only composed of nine teams and these teams battle it out all season. The attendance at games has been hit significantly over the last few years, especially during the pandemic. We also lost a season during the height of the pandemic.

But on TV the league is still going strong. The CFL was founded in 1958 officially, according to Wikipedia, and since those humble beginnings it has become not only a viable option for Canadians to choose as far as what they watch for football is concerned, but Americans also love the CFL game, and there are tons of CFL fans south of the border who enjoy absolutely anything football, and the CFL is something they pay attention to for sure.

In fact the entire league is also made up of NCAA players and ex-NFL, USFL and even XFL players and coaches, all American-born.

Historically many football players and even professional wrestlers had careers in the CFL, namely Lex Luger, who played with the Montreal Alouettes and even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who after a failed attempt at the NFL, was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders until he was called to pro wrestling.

He of course is still very much involved in football, the proud owner of the newly founded and refurbished XFL. The XFL is set to get started in 2023, and those aforementioned football fans out there that can’t get enough football, are certainly giddy about that prospect.

So in the end, the CFL has a massive fan base and with that fan base, a large quantity of merchandise is undoubtedly sold, and with that the league, its teams and its owners get richer, and so do the players quite naturally.

How much do CFL Players make?

Well, according to careerexplorerguide.com, a portion of the players’ salaries does depend on experience. The aforementioned report suggests that if a player has 2 years of experience or less, the average salary is set at $81, 605, Canadian.

If a player has more than two years but under 5 years experience, the salary is $212, 522, and if that player has 5 years experience and over, said player will receive an average salary of $313, 866, Canadian.

But what of the big stars signed to the team? Surely they’ve got to make more. Indeed they do, but interestingly enough, the CFL does put a cap on the possible salaries. So yeah even a star QB in the league won’t be making Aaron Rodgers type money, which is at just about $42 million…about a million of that is his base salary and the rest coming from what is known as a ‘signing bonus,’ according to sportingnews.com.

Yikes! That much money just to sign a contract?! How come I can’t charge the cable company that much to get my old John Hancock? Anyways…

In the CFL, the aforementioned salary cap is set at $6,653,964 in Canadian dollars. So, in the end, there must be somebody making that kind of money if it’s been recorded, right? Let’s see…

Which players have the highest salary in the CFL?

According to the Career Explorer Guide (link above), Cody Fajardo of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, makes $1,129,918 Canadian per season.

Also according to that same report, Trevor Harris of the Montreal Alouettes, makes just a wee bit more, his base salary set at $1,381,011 CAD.

Can they ever possibly earn more?

Of course they can. The CFL couldn’t pay these types of salaries a short while ago apparently, but that has changed in recent history, and such salaries as mentioned above, are very possible today, the cap still set in place however.

And this is perhaps why the CFL is such a viable option for ex-NFL players from all over the football leagues scattered about—a place where they can hone their craft and do what they’ve always dreamt of and make a little dough in the process, eh? And there’s nothing wrong with that; especially these days.

Another way for them to make more is of course in endorsement deals that they or their respective sports agents procure for them. Now there’s the big money folks!

“What? You want me to say I use Rub A535 for my aches and pains so I can get to the gym? And what? You’ll pay me like a million for only one hour’s worth of work in a studio recording commercial? Sure I’ll be there? Where do I sign?”

Pretty much how it would go I’d imagine. I wonder: Where’s my endorsement for using an HP computer ever gonna come in?

*For all your 2022 CFL Season News: CFL News HUB

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