The 2023 CFL season was the 69th season of modern professional Canadian football. Officially, it was the 65th season of the Canadian Football League. Hamilton hosted the 110th Grey Cup 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 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 announced that the playoff games (Division Semi-Final and Division Final games) would be moved from Sundays to Saturdays, while the 110th Grey Cup game would remain on Sunday. They will be the first playoff games on Saturdays since the 2008 CFL season. The Touchdown Atlantic series continued with the Toronto Argonauts hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Huskies Stadium (Saint Mary's University) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 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 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 Team2022 HC2022 Interim HC2023 HCCommentsMontreal AlouettesKhari JonesDanny Maciocia (GM)Jason MaasKhari Jones had been the head coach and offensive coordinator of the Alouettes since 2019; however, after a slow start to the 2022 season he was relieved of his duties. General Manager Danny Maciocia took over the head coaching duties. Jones won 18 games and lost 18 games in three seasons. For the remainder of the season Maciocia helped guide the Alouettes to a 8–6 record and a playoff berth. Maas was hired by Montreal on December 17, 2022. Maas had previously served as the offensive coordinator for Ottawa, Edmonton and Saskatchewan and was the head coach in Edmonton for four seasons (39–33).Ottawa RedblacksPaul LaPoliceBob DyceLaPolice had served as the Redblacks' head coach for two seasons, winning only six games and losing 22. He was relieved of his duties on October 1, 2022. Long time assistant coach Bob Dyce was granted the role of interim head coach, a position which was made permanent on December 2, 2022. Dyce had been with the Redblacks since 2016 and served as the interim head coach in Saskatchewan during the 2015 season, winning three of nine contests.
Player movement Free agency The 2023 free agency 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 was played at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, 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, who would broadcast 34 games in the United States. The deal was reportedly worth $1 million 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 + Weekly Honour Roll Week Quarterback Running Back Receiver Offensive Lineman Defensive Lineman Linebacker Defensive Back Kicker/Punter Safety Offensive Line 1 Zach Collaros Brady Oliveira Geno Lewis Jermarcus Hardrick Anthony Lanier II Avery Williams Ciante Evans David Côté Kyle Wilson Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2 Zach Collaros A.J. Ouellette Damonte Coxie Sukh Chungh Julian Howsare Titus Wall Tre Roberson Sean Whyte Elliot Graham Winnipeg Blue Bombers 3 Cody Fajardo A.J. Ouellette Kaion Julien-Grant Dylan Giffen Dewayne Hendrix Adarius Pickett Royce Metchie René Paredes Charlie Moore Toronto Argonauts 4 Chad Kelly De'Montre Tuggle Cam Phillips Chris Kolankowski Folarin Orimolade Douglas Coleman III Robertson Daniel Boris Bede Kene Onyeka Winnipeg Blue Bombers 5 Trevor Harris Dedrick Mills Mitchell Picton Drew Desjarlais Jackson Jeffcoat Tyron Vrede Marc-Antoine Dequoy Cody Grace Woody Baron Saskatchewan Roughriders 6 Chad Kelly James Butler David Ungerer III Pier-Olivier Lestage James Vaughters Micah Awe Robertson Daniel René Paredes Kobe Williams Hamilton Tiger-Cats 7 Zach Collaros Brady Oliveira Nate Behar Colin Kelly Mike Rose Ben Hladik Richard Leonard Bailey Flint Jayden Dalke Winnipeg Blue Bombers 8 Dane Evans A.J. Ouellette Shawn Bane Darius Ciraco Woody Baron Wynton McManis Kabion Ento René Paredes Charbel Dabire BC Lions 9 Zach Collaros A.J. Ouellette Kenny Lawler Nick Callender Willie Jefferson Jovan Santos-Knox Royce Metchie Cody Grace Gary Johnson Jr. Winnipeg Blue Bombers 10 Dru Brown Brady Oliveira DaVaris Daniels Dejon Allen Jackson Jeffcoat Micah Awe Reggie Stubblefield Cody Grace Justin Herdman-Reed Montreal Alouettes 11 Tre Ford James Butler Steven Dunbar Tomas Jack-Kurdyla Micah Johnson Tyrell Richards Demerio Houston Jamieson Sheahan T.J. Brunson Edmonton Elks 12 Tre Ford A.J. Ouellette Nic Demski Brandon Kemp Casey Sayles Wynton McManis Marc-Antoine Dequoy Boris Bede Jonathan Edouard Toronto Argonauts 13 Vernon Adams Brady Oliveira Nic Demski Joel Figueroa Miles Brown Jordan Williams Quincy Mauger Brett Lauther Kosi Onyeka BC Lions 14 Zach Collaros Brady Oliveira Tim White Martez Ivey Lorenzo Mauldin IV Cameron Judge Jamal Peters Cody Grace Tanner Green Winnipeg Blue Bombers 15 Dustin Crum Kevin Brown Justin McInnis Peter Nicastro Lorenzo Mauldin IV Tyrice Beverette Mason Pierce Jake Julien Nic Cross Edmonton Elks 16 Dustin Crum William Stanback Dejon Brissett Justin Lawrence Bryce Carter Wynton McManis Marc-Antoine Dequoy Adam Korsak Jake Harty Ottawa Redblacks 17 Vernon Adams James Butler Keon Hatcher Brandon Revenberg Casey Sayles Cameron Judge Qwan'tez Stiggers Joseph Zema Adam Auclair BC Lions 18 Chad Kelly Jamal Morrow Omar Bayless Nick Callender Mustafa Johnson Wynton McManis Stavros Katsantonis Sean Whyte Nic Cross Winnipeg Blue Bombers 19 Vernon Adams Walter Fletcher Alexander Hollins Martez Ivey Robbie Smith Josh Woods Marloshawn Franklin Sean Whyte Adarius Taylor BC Lions 20 Chad Kelly Ka'Deem Carey Geno Lewis Ryan Hunter Bryan Cox Jr. Micah Awe Mason Pierce Cody Grace Jonathan Jones Calgary Stampeders 21 Dru Brown Dedrick Mills Rasheed Bailey Asotui Eli Julian Howsare Brian Cole II Mason Pierce Sergio Castillo Thomas Costigan Winnipeg Blue Bombers