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Days after announcing major changes to the CFL, the league’s commissioner was in the heartland of the league for a celebration of football.
CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston was in Saskatoon for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies’ annual Dogs’ Breakfast event on Thursday. The event is one of the top football fundraisers in the country.
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“I wanted to come out because I heard what a celebration this was of football and an incredible program with the Huskies. I heard about this thing called the Dog’s Breakfast – little bits and pieces. I’m glad I got here because what a vibe,” Johnston said. “Celebration is the right word. It’s just a celebration of all things that are great in this province and all things that are football.”
The visit comes days after the announcement that not only would the 2027 CFL regular season begin earlier in the year, but it would be expanding playoffs to include eight of the nine teams. The change will increase the amount of postseason contests from five to nine.
“We want to plant a flag on Victoria Day and say that is the unofficial start of summer and the official start of the CFL season. Make that a tradition, make all long weekends throughout the summer a tradition around the CFL and our great game. We can’t wait to build events off of those,” Johnston said.
“We announced a new playoff battle where we are going to have an even longer battle to get into the greatest championship in Canada – the Grey Cup – and teams are battling it out in an interesting format. We think it’s going to resonate well.”
One of the concerns around summer weekends in Saskatchewan is that there are many people who travel or go to their cabins or cottages during those warmer months.
“Guess what they do when they are there? They watch. If they are not going to be at a venue, then be there in front of a TV and soak it in. We want to turn what could be seen as a negative and make it a positive,” Johnston said. “Just embrace it and make an event out of it … These are just places we can celebrate and have it resonate with fans as real CFL traditions.”
Some of the criticisms about the changes to the playoffs is it will reduce the importance of the 21-week regular season to only eliminate a single team.
“We won’t know until we get there, but we believe it will make the interest in the CFL season even greater down the stretch. Right now, we have times in the month of October when it’s a little light when someone knows they’re not going to make the playoffs, there isn’t a lot of interest,” Johnston said. “The importance of seeding will be so incredibly high. Getting into those first two spots in the division will be rewarded. We believe the battle down the stretch will intensify, not the other way around.”
Also, this week, the CFL held its annual Canadian draft. The Riders selected Michigan State Spartans defensive back Malcolm Bell in the first round, the ninth-overall pick.
“What a moment that is, welcoming a new crop of players to our league,” Johnston said.
CFL training camps are expected to get underway on May 10.
