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The Canadian Football League opens a new season tonight, marking a fresh start both on and off the field. The 2026 regular season kicks off with the East Division champion Montreal Alouettes visiting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Since taking the helm as commissioner in April last year, former TSN president Stewart Johnston has implemented major changes aimed at revitalizing the league. These adjustments, set to unfold over the next two seasons, are designed to attract broadcasters, advertisers, and casual fans amid declining interest and intense competition for viewers. Among the key changes are a rulebook overhaul, an expanded playoff format, and a lucrative new television and streaming rights deal.
The most immediate changes involve the rules, which Johnston called “the most significant in decades.” Starting this season, the single point awarded to the kicking team when a missed field goal, punt, or kickoff goes through the back of the end zone — known as the “rouge” — has been eliminated. However, the rouge remains when the returner fails to exit the end zone or takes a knee. To speed up the game, a 35-second play clock now starts automatically when the previous play ends, except during the last three minutes of each half, when officials manually start a 20-second clock once the ball is spotted.
Even bigger changes are coming next year. The field will shrink from 110 to 100 yards, aligning with the NFL, and the end zones will decrease from 20 to 15 yards. Goalposts will move from the goal line to the back of the end zones. While these changes upset some traditionalists, Johnston defended them as “trading field goals for touchdowns” essential for capturing attention in today’s media landscape.
In late April, Johnston unveiled a revamped playoff format set to begin next season. Eight of the league’s nine teams will qualify—up from six—and there will be three playoff rounds instead of two. The first round will feature two non-elimination games where the top seeds in each division compete for a semifinal bye, with the losers moving on to face winners from play-in games involving seeds five through eight. Additionally, the 2027 season will start earlier, on the Victoria Day weekend.
Last week, Johnston announced a new broadcast rights deal with Bell Media (parent company of TSN), DAZN, and YouTube. Starting in 2027, the six-year contract will bring in a reported $500 million, averaging about $83 million per season—up from the current $50 million annually.
Fans will now have to subscribe to DAZN to watch all games. Similar to Amazon Prime’s exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football in the U.S., DAZN will air a weekly Saturday night game and two of the nine playoff matches, while YouTube will stream some preseason games and an “all-access” series. TSN retains the rest of the playoffs, including the Grey Cup, and 60 of the 81 regular-season games. Roughly a quarter of the games will now require a DAZN subscription, which currently costs $25 per month for the cheapest plan.
As for the on-field action, the race for the 113th Grey Cup in Calgary this November appears wide open. The defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders, fresh off their first title in 12 years, aim to repeat for the first time in club history. Grey Cup MVP Trevor Harris, who recently turned 40, remains one of the CFL’s most efficient quarterbacks. Running back AJ Oullette ranked second in rushing yards last season. Despite this, the Riders are listed as 6/1 underdogs behind co-favorites Montreal and B.C., both near 3/1.
Montreal’s hopes rest largely on a healthy Davis Alexander. The 27-year-old is undefeated at 13-0 as a starting quarterback in the regular season, including 7-0 last year plus two playoff wins. However, a hamstring injury sidelined him for 11 games and hampered his performance in the Grey Cup loss after he was reinjured late in the East final.
The B.C. Lions feature 28-year-old Nathan Rourke, who last season became the first Canadian quarterback since Russ Jackson in 1969 to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award. Rourke threw for 5,290 yards and 31 touchdowns—second only to Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell—and led the league in passer rating while adding 564 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. In the playoffs, he nearly led B.C. to the championship before Saskatchewan’s Harris orchestrated a last-minute go-ahead drive in the West final.
Rourke benefits from top offensive weapons like Keon Hatcher, who led the league with 1,688 receiving yards, and running back James Butler, who ranked third in rushing yards. On defense, B.C. boasts the reigning Most Outstanding Defensive Player Mathieu Betts, who topped the league with 15 sacks.
Hamilton figures to contend again with Mitchell still strong at 36, while Winnipeg hopes 37-year-old Zach Collaros can recapture his form. The two-time Most Outstanding Player struggled last season with a career-high 16 interceptions against 17 touchdowns but aims to turn things around this year.