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The Grey Cup turned green and white, so the cost to do so was worth it for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Saskatchewan experienced a net loss of $157,005 due to extra costs associated with having a postponed regular season game as well as costs associated with winning the Grey Cup. It posted a profit of $2,087,770 in 2024-25.
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The club did post a positive EBIDA (Earnings before Interest, Depreciation and Amortization) of $2,284,574.
The figures were announced at their annual general meeting taking place Tuesday night.
The CFL club posted a revenue of $44,904,287 — an increase from $40,836,975 in 2024-25. It also saw a big increase in expenses, jumping from $38,749,205 in the last report to $45,061,292 last season.
Saskatchewan also saw more money put into its stabilization fund, increasing to $11,302,898.
“The goal of the organization is to win championships and entertain our fans so we look at that first and foremost. Those two things are inter-related.
“When you have a successful year like we did on the field, you’re going to see revenue growth, which is what we saw. When you have the ultimate success of winning the Grey Cup, you’re going to have some expenditure growth as well,” Riders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said.
The game against the Calgary Stampeders on July 11 had to be postponed to the next day due to wildfire smoke in the province and it being unsafe for players to play a game that evening.
“The result (of the postponed game) was almost an entirely second set of game day costs with very little incremental revenue,” said Riders Chief Financial Officer Kent Paul.
“The ticket holders were able to come to the second game but there was very little additional sales. We incurred all the incremental costs of putting on a whole other game.”
Along with those costs, the organization offered coupons for the game as well.
There are also costs with playing in the Grey Cup and winning it — including money spent on the championship rings and the other celebrations. That cost the club $2,041,844.
So how much did those rings cost?
“Enough,” Reynolds said. “We benchmark previous Grey Cup championships and other teams. We want to make sure we are providing our players and coaches and team with something that is appropriate for what they accomplished.”
Merchandise saw strong numbers as well during last year’s championship season.
The club saw revenue of $9,112,767 from merchandise — up from $6,499,944 from the previous season. It’s a 10-year high for merchandise sales for the team. That did come with increased expenses as well, going to $6,456,764.
Saskatchewan had a 12-6 record, which saw them host the CFL West Final. That led to $282,155 in revenue for the team.
If there were no postponed game or Grey Cup appearance, the Riders would have had a total revenue of $43,129,149 with expenses being $41,218,611 — a profit of $1,910,583.
Another reason for higher expenses was the rent agreement with the City of Regina going back to normal levels after a year of seeing it at a reduced rate to make up for the lost business during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was $1,713,041 last season, compared to the reduced rate of $311,135.
“Last year was a one-time exception where we worked with the city regarding what the rent amounts were owing back during the pandemic and we finalized that agreement last year,” Paul said. “It ended up having a smaller rent amount last year as a one-time adjustment.”
The 2025 season saw an increase in overall gate receipts from $14.4 million in 2024 to $14.5 million in 2025, which is net of any refunds issued for the postponed game. Gate receipts make up 33 per cent of the club’s revenues. Sponsorship make up 21 per cent while merchandise makes up 20 per cent.
Reynolds said for 2026, they have seen positive numbers when it comes to ticket sales.
“We had a separate pre-season game in Saskatoon so we are getting 10 regular season games here so we are seeing positive trends on the ticketing side, which is important. We saw season ticket growth as well, which is important,” Reynolds said.
“It grew over 1,000 season tickets. It was a combination of really, really strong new season ticket sales and then, I would say, a return to pre-pandemic levels of lost season tickets, or churn as we refer to it.”
The Riders will host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at Mosaic Stadium in what is technically an away game for the Green and White. Toronto is playing a few of their home games on the road due to the FIFA World Cup taking place at BMO Field.
“It’s going to feel a lot like a home game. There’s going to be a few minor differences but it is going to feel like a Rider home game,” Reynolds said. “We’re going to be wearing away jerseys — a unique take on our away jerseys in our Prairie Blizzard jerseys.”
Reynolds wouldn’t comment on what sort of agreement was reached with the Argos to host one of their home games.
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