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2022 CFL season

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2022 CFL season
DurationJune 9 – October 29, 2022
East championsToronto Argonauts
West championsWinnipeg Blue Bombers
109th Grey Cup
DateNovember 20, 2022
VenueMosaic Stadium, Regina
ChampionsToronto Argonauts
CFL seasons
← 2021
2023 →
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Locations of the active CFL teams West East

The 2022 CFL season was the 68th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 64th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on June 9 and ended on October 29, with 18 games played per team over 21 weeks.[1] Regina hosted the 109th Grey Cup on November 20, 2022.[2][3]

League business

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Collective bargaining agreement and strike

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The three-year agreement that was ratified between the CFL and CFL Player's Association expired just prior to this season, on May 15, which was the first day of scheduled training camp.[4][5][6] After the CFL and CFLPA failed to come to an agreement before the deadline, players from seven of the nine teams formally went on strike on May 15, with players from the two teams in Alberta voting to strike on May 19 in accordance with provincial labour laws.[7][8][9] This was the first CFL labour strike since 1974.[10] On May 18, the CFL and CFLPA reached a tentative agreement on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA).[11] However, on May 23 the players voted against the tentative agreement, despite its approval by the bargaining committee and being recommended by team player reps.[12] On May 26, the CFLPA and CFL agreed to a revised tentative CBA agreement.[13] A few hours later the players voted to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement.[14] The CFL Board of Governors officially ratified the agreement on May 31.[15] Topics of negotiation include compensation, partially guaranteed contracts, revenue sharing, player safety, and league revenue generation following two seasons heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[16] However, much of the debate revolved around the Canadian-American player ratios.[17]

The 2022 salary cap was $5,350,000 ($118,888 per active roster spot). Minimum salaries were $65,000 for National and American Players and $54,000 for Global Players.[4][18] This was the last year minimum salaries were tiered (in 2023, the minimum rose to $70,000 for the entire league). Players also share $136,111 per club ratification bonus and $100,000 per club in community relations payments.

Schedule

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The league released the season's full schedule on December 16, 2021, just four days after the 108th Grey Cup. The league returned to an 18-game schedule following a pandemic-shortened 2021 CFL season.[19] The regular season began on June 9, with the Calgary Stampeders hosting the Montreal Alouettes.[1] The Grey Cup rematch game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats did not occur until week 3, which was the first time since 2018 that this game was not featured in week 1 of the regular season.[1] Similar to the planned 2020 CFL season and the schedule from 2021, this year again featured more intra-divisional games, with BC, Calgary, and Edmonton playing 12 such games, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg playing 11 divisional games, and the East Division teams playing 10 divisional games.[1] This was done to reduce cross-country travel.[19]

The schedule featured all intra-divisional matchups in the last two weeks of the regular season.[19] This year also featured more home-and-home matchups, with every team having at least two and Saskatchewan, Toronto, and Ottawa having five of these matchups.[1] The Toronto Argonauts played a neutral site game on July 16 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Raymond Field, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia; with the stadium capacity increased from 3,000 to 10,000.[20] It was the first CFL match held in Atlantic Canada since the 2019 season. All previous regular season games of the Touchdown Atlantic series were held in Moncton, New Brunswick.[21] Tickets for the match sold out in less than one hour.[22]

Rule changes

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On April 27, the league announced a series of rule changes with the intention of improving game flow, and increasing offensive production.[23]

  • Narrowing of the field hashmarks from 28 yards from the sidelines instead of 24, making them nine yards apart instead of 17. This centralized the offence in the middle of the field, increasing the effective space the defence had to cover. It also aligned field goal kickers closer to the uprights so they did not have to kick on such drastic angles, which improved accuracy, and thus scoring.
  • Increasing the no-yards penalties on punts from 5 yards to 15 yards. Previously special teams were willing to take a five-yard penalty to prevent a longer punt return.
  • Changing the starting location of the offence. Kickoffs were moved back from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line. After a field goal or a single rouge the team that was scored on could scrimmage from the 40-yard line instead of the 35-yard line. Both of these changes had the effect of the offence starting their drives closer to the opposition end-zone.
  • Punting teams were also penalized for any ball that went out of bounds before the opponent’s 15-yard line, instead of the 20-yard line.
  • A communications coordinator from the officiating department was on the sidelines of each team to enable faster communication between head coaches and on field officials.
  • Expansion of the types of plays the Command Centre could review without requiring a coach’s challenge or an officials’ huddle (possession rulings, boundary rulings and administrative rules such as a formation without an end or ineligible receivers downfield)
  • Teams were allowed to have two quarterbacks on the field at one time to allow creative plays.
  • Penalties that occurred at the end of the first or third quarters could be applied to the start of the next quarter.
  • Quarterbacks who fake giving themselves up were assessed an objectionable conduct penalty.
  • Automatic ejection of any player for two unnecessary roughness or objectionable conduct penalties.

Player movement

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Free agency

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The 2022 free agency period officially began on February 8 at 12:00 p.m. ET.[24] Pending free agents and teams were able to negotiate offers for one week starting January 30 and ending February 6.[25] All formal offers to a player during this time were sent to both the league and the players union and could not be rescinded.[25][26]

Regular season

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Standings

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West Division
Team GP W L T Pts PF PA Div Stk
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 15 3 0 30 538 370 10–1 W1 Details
BC Lions 18 12 6 0 24 525 405 8–4 L1 Details
Calgary Stampeders 18 12 6 0 24 533 373 7–5 W2 Details
Saskatchewan Roughriders 18 6 12 0 12 370 440 3–8 L7 Details
Edmonton Elks 18 4 14 0 8 354 599 1–11 L4 Details
East Division
Team GP W L T Pts PF PA Div Stk
Toronto Argonauts 18 11 7 0 22 443 415 7–3 L1 Details
Montreal Alouettes 18 9 9 0 18 471 466 5–5 W1 Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 8 10 0 16 421 473 5–5 W4 Details
Ottawa Redblacks 18 4 14 0 8 370 475 3–7 L3 Details

Postseason

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Main article: 109th Grey Cup

The Grey Cup was played at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, on November 20. The Toronto Argonauts won their league leading 18th Grey Cup and their first since the 2017 season.

Playoff bracket

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November 6:
Division Semi-Finals 		November 13:
Division Finals 		November 20:
109th Grey Cup
Mosaic Stadium – Regina
         
E1 Toronto Argonauts 34
East
E2 Montreal Alouettes 27
E2 Montreal Alouettes 28
E3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17
E1 Toronto Argonauts 24
W1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23
W1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28
West
W2 BC Lions 20
W2 BC Lions 30
W3 Calgary Stampeders 16


Broadcasting

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The CFL continued to be broadcast on TSN and RDS across all platforms in Canada as part of their current contract.[27] The broadcast rights were extended through 2025.[28] The CFL entered a new partnership with Visaic providing streaming options for 130 countries and territories around the world. This service is available to anyone outside of Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States, where the rights are held by TSN, RDS, ESPN and BT Sports.[29] Prices ranged from US$4.99 for a single game, to $99.99 for every regular season and playoff game.[30]

Award winners

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CFL Top Performers of the Week

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Week First Second Third
One Nathan Rourke James Butler T. J. Lee
Two Titus Wall Rene Paredes Jamal Morrow
Three Nathan Rourke Malik Henry Willie Jefferson
Four Keon Hatcher Anthony Lanier Pete Robertson
Five Zach Collaros Peyton Logan Dalton Schoen
Six Greg Ellingson Kenny Lawler Dane Evans
Seven Trevor Harris Andrew Harris Kurleigh Gittens Jr.
Eight Nathan Rourke Zach Collaros Caleb Evans
Nine Nathan Rourke Dominique Rhymes Titus Wall
Ten Nathan Rourke Bryan Burnham Wesley Sutton
Eleven Obum Gwacham Trevor Harris Tim White
Twelve Jamal Peters Kian Schaffer-Baker Malik Henry
Thirteen Jaelon Acklin Lorenzo Mauldin Jameer Thurman
Fourteen Zach Collaros Kurleigh Gittens Jr. Willie Jefferson
Fifteen Dane Evans Taylor Cornelius Matthew Thomas
Sixteen Maurice Carnell Jake Maier McLeod Bethel-Thompson
Seventeen Tyrice Beverette Nic Demski Zach Collaros
Eighteen Dalton Schoen Wes Hills Malik Carney
Nineteen Richard Leonard Tim White Adarius Pickett
Twenty James Butler Sean Thomas Erlington Dedrick Mills
Twenty-one Tommy Stevens Dedrick Mills Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund

Source[31]

CFL Top Performers of the Month

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Month First Second Third
June Nathan Rourke Jamal Morrow Pete Robertson
July Zach Collaros Dalton Schoen Jaelon Acklin
August Nathan Rourke Wynton McManis Dominique Rhymes
September Zach Collaros Nic Demski Jameer Thurman
October Dalton Schoen Trevor Harris Richard Leonard

Source[31]

2022 CFL All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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Special teams

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Source[32]

2022 CFL Western All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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Special teams

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Source[33]

2022 CFL Eastern All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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Special teams

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Source[33]

2022 CFL Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "2022 CFL Schedule". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Saskatchewan Grey Cup Moved To 2022". Canadian Football League. May 5, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "Roughriders Unveil Refreshed 2022 Grey Cup Festival Logo". Saskatchewan Roughriders. December 10, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "New five-year CBA ratified by CFL and CFLPA". Canadian Football League. May 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Dunk, Justin (January 7, 2020). "The comprehensive CFL collective bargaining agreement". 3DownNation. p. 119 – via Canadian Football League. Collective Bargaining Agreement
  6. ^ "CFL-CFLPA talks break off without new agreement". ESPN.com. May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Seven teams to go on strike Sunday after CFL, CFLPA unable to reach agreement - TSN.ca". TSN. May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  8. ^ 3Down Staff (May 15, 2022). "Stampeders, Elks players voted 99 percent in favour of strike after receiving open letter from commissioner Randy Ambrosie". 3DownNation. Retrieved May 16, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Elks, Stampeders players will be in legal strike position Thursday - TSN.ca". TSN. May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  10. ^ Miari, Caio (May 15, 2022). "CFL, union fail to reach CBA agreement; teams to reportedly strike". theScore.com. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  11. ^ Naylor, Dave (May 19, 2022). "CFL strike ends after league, players reach tentative agreement on new CBA - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "Tentative CBA agreement between CFL and CFLPA voted down - TSN.ca". TSN. May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "CFLPA voting on new tentative agreement with CFL on Thursday - TSN.ca". TSN. May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  14. ^ "CFL statement on CFLPA's ratification of CBA". CFL.ca. May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  15. ^ "CFL board of governors ratifies new CBA - TSN.ca". TSN. May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  16. ^ "CFL, CFL Players' Association brace for yet another round of collective bargaining". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 28, 2021.
  17. ^ Canadian ratio the big roadblock standing in the way of a new CFL CBA, May 25, 2022, retrieved May 27, 2022
  18. ^ Dunk, Justin (January 7, 2020). "The comprehensive CFL collective bargaining agreement". 3DownNation. p. 96 – via Canadian Football League. Collective Bargaining Agreement
  19. ^ a b c "Circle Your Calendars: CFL releases 2022 schedule". Canadian Football League. December 16, 2021.
  20. ^ "2022 CFL schedule released". Toronto Argonauts. December 16, 2021.
  21. ^ TSN ca Staff (March 24, 2022). "CFL touches down with Atlantic Canada game in July - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  22. ^ "2022 Touchdown Atlantic CFL game sells out within one hour". 3DownNation. April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  23. ^ "Rule changes build on strengths of the CFL game". CFL.ca. April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  24. ^ "Official 2021 free agent tracker". Canadian Football League. December 17, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Negotiating window a new feature of 2020 free agency". Canadian Football League. January 27, 2020.
  26. ^ Dunk, Justin (January 27, 2020). "Details for the CFL's new negotiating window prior to free agency". 3DownNation.
  27. ^ "CFL and TSN extend rights on long-term deal". TSN. November 21, 2019.
  28. ^ Barnes, Dan (September 6, 2019). "BARNES: CFL agrees to new six-year TV deal with TSN". Toronto Sun.
  29. ^ "International streaming delivers CFL football to the world". CFL.ca. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  30. ^ "Home | CFL". cfl.yaretv.com. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  31. ^ a b "CFL Top Performers". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  32. ^ "Stars Aligned: 2022 CFL All-Stars announced". Canadian Football League. November 15, 2022.
  33. ^ a b "Updated List of 2022 CFL Division All-Stars". Canadian Football League. November 2, 2022.
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