Let’s have fun with this.
Imagine if NFL Quarterbacks played in the CFL? There have been some in the past that have played in both leagues such as Joe Kapp, Warren Moon, Joe Theismann, Jeff Garcia, Doug Flutie, Dieter Brock, and Vince Ferragamo to name a few.
Let’s make a list based on Quarterbacks that currently play, or have played in the NFL, and are now on CFL teams. This theme is to base it on a Quarterback who played in a certain city and or region, that would translate to a CFL region and or city.
The obvious, Quebec is a French-speaking province. Louisiana has a deep-rooted Cajan and French history. Therefore, pick a New Orleans Saints Quarterback who is now on the Montreal Alouettes. The Montreal Alouettes select Drew Brees as their starting Quarterback.
Hamilton is a Steel Town like Pittsburgh. The obvious is there in what you can pick. Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger just to name a few. For this example, you can also pick a Rust Belt City. Let’s also add an Honorable Mention. I will slot in a Modern Era (any player that played in the present – Super Bowl Era of 1967 for a team), and a Historical (any player that played also in a pre-NFL era) Here we go.
Toronto Argonauts
The biggest city in Canada. I’m leaning to New York Giants on this one for the sole fact that they have a far more winning history than the NY Jets. The current NY Giants Quarterback is Daniel Jones. The current NY Jets Quarterback is Zac Wilson. I’m going to skip on both. No offence to both, but they only have been in the NFL not long enough to be on this list. I’m going to past Quarterbacks.
Modern: Eli Manning, and Phill Simms.
Historical: Y.A. Tittle, and Joe Namath.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
For this, I’m going for the obvious in the same colours as Pittsburgh. However, I’m also going to include Buffalo as it’s a Rust Belt City. Furthermore, it is only about a little over an hour’s drive, and about 112 Kilometers away.
Modern: Jim Kelly, and Ben Roethlisberger.
Historical: Terry Bradshaw, and Jack Kemp.
Ottawa Red Blacks
For this one, I’m going towards the Washington Football Team. It’s only fitting to pick from the United States of America Capital in Washington DC, as it is the same historically for Ottawa, Canada.
Modern: Alex Smith and Joe Theismann.
Historical: Sonny Jurgensen.
Montreal Alouettes
For this one, I’m leaning totally towards Louisiana as I mentioned prior.
Modern: Drew Brees, Aaron Brooks, Bobby Hebert, and Jim Everett.
Historical: Archie Manning.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
This is where it will be a little complicated. For this, I can pick a regional area as I’m now in the Midwest / Central zone. I’m going to lean on the Minnesota Vikings for this one. With St. Paul and Minneapolis, there is no comparison on the size of the population. St. Paul’s Minneapolis has an estimated population of 3.28 Million, as opposed to Winnipeg at 749,000. There is a Winnipeg to Minnesota connection that begins and ends with the legend of Head Coach Bud Grant. Bud Grant is one of the very few that are inducted in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Modern: Kirk Cousins, Warren Moon, Daunte Culpepper, and Rich Gannon.
Historical: Fran Tarkenton, and Joe Kapp.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Football was not invented in Saskatchewan or Green Bay, but it should have been. Both small cities could not be so similar in which they are most likely are Sister Cities in football. Both have football roots going back to the late 1800s.
Modern: Aaron Rogers and Bret Favre.
Historical: Bart Starr.
British Columbia Lions
Geographically I can pick a lot of teams on the West Coast. However, Vancouver is not Oakland, and it’s not like Los Angeles. I mean it is a city where it is the most expensive property in all of Canada. They produce a lot of movies and TV shows out of Vancouver. However, I’m not going to go on that. I’m going to base it on the beautiful West Coast views, along with the cost of living. Therefore, I’m leaning towards San Francisco for this one.
Modern: Joe Montana, Jeff Garcia, and Steve Young.
Historical: Y.A. Tittle, and John Brodie
Calgary Stampeders
It all comes down to both Alberta Teams. Alberta with a rich history of oil, gas, oil sands, agriculture, and the cattle industry. It is very similar to what Texas is to the USA. However, the Western Alberta part has the Rocky Mountains similar to a Colorado when you factor in the climate. Texas does not have a Mountain Range like out west. So, I’m going to look towards Calgary as Denver since they are closer to the Rocky Mountains, while Edmonton is more flatlands.
Modern: Peyton Manning
Historical: John Elway
Edmonton Elks
Edmonton has such a winning history. Their Grey Cup total is only 2nd to the Toronto Argonauts. My pick will be similar to the Winnipeg pick. I’m choosing Dallas for the sole purpose of the flatlands, and the winning history.
Modern: Dak Prescott, Troy Aikman
Historical: Roger Staubach, and Don Meredith
Well, there you have it, everyone. Have your say of your Quarterbacks that should be on a certain CFL team.
Well, I guess the Manning family made the list.
David Tress
January 21, 2022 at 1:10 pm
The big issue here is money. The CFL would have to pay a lot more for the stars mentioned to play up north. If they would pay more, then bigger crowds would lead to more money and bigger stadiums, along with more teams. The whole thing above is far fetched without consideration of what is needed to draw stars north.
Dino Sepe
January 21, 2022 at 1:49 pm
Hello Mr. Tress,
Thanks for reading the article, and I appreciate your comment.
Everyone knows that the NFL is a beast in revenue on its own. No other pro league in North America comes close to the annual revenue it generates. It can rival just about any other league in the world for that matter.
The whole idea is the what if?
The NFL did not pay its player’s big money till about the late 1990s.
When the NFL did its 1st salary cap year, roughly 1994, it was only like 34 million per team. A far cry from what it is now between at times 180 million – 200 million range at times.
The TV contracts were a couple of hundred million per season as opposed to the billions annually as of now.
Your best players were making between 2 – 5 million per season.
To put it perspective at times, when Angelo Mosca was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, he was offered $13,000 per year for his contract.
When he came to Hamilton, he was offered a salary around the $24,000 range. For him it was a no-brainer as the Canadian Dollar superseded the American Dollar at the times both currencies fluctuated to at par, or slightly above.
Fast forward to 1991 when the Toronto Argonauts ownership of Wayne Gretzky, Bruce Mc Nall, and John Candy, made a splash that shook the football world in signing Raghib “Rocket” Ismail to 4 million per season. Rookies were not making that salary back then in the NFL. The Argonauts went for the jugular to bring it a big name and outbidding the NFL.
Those days are far over now.
Thanks,
Dino