CFL free-agency window set to officially open at noon ET on Sunday

A football sits on the sidelines as the Calgary Stampeders runs drills during opening day of training camp in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, May 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

TORONTO — The CFL’s free-agency process will kick into high gear Sunday.

That’s when the league’s free-agency window will open, allowing CFL teams to talk freely with any pending free agents and/or their representatives. That will officially begin at noon ET on Sunday.

Agents representing CFL players must be registered with the CFL Players’ Association.

The CFL implemented this process in 2020. The aim was to curb tampering while allowing potential free agents to get a clearer idea of where they stand within the marketplace and exactly what their options are.

The negotiation window will remain open for seven days and then close at noon ET on Feb 9. But while the window is open, teams can make formal contract offers to any pending free agents.

Any offers made must be registered with both the CFL and CFLPA. Any proposal tabled within the window period will be considered binding and can’t be rescinded.

Once the window closes Feb. 9, pending free agents will have an exclusive 48-hour negotiating period with the teams they remain under contract with. Every CFL club will be provided any offers the pending free agents received during the weeklong open window timeline.

Teams will have until 10 a.m. ET on Feb. 11 to make an offer to their own free agents. Copies of those proposals must again go to both the CFL office and CFLPA.

Pending free agents will then have from 10 a.m. until noon ET to accept any offer that’s been made to them. Should a player decide against taking any of the proposals, he’ll become a free agent at 12:01 p.m. ET on Feb. 11 and be able to sign with the team of his choice.

At that time, all prior offers that were made will be withdrawn. And once formal free agency begins, contract proposals no longer need to be made available to either the CFL or CFLPA.

There has been movement this off-season with teams signing some of their pending free agents to extensions. Those include: quarterbacks Tre Ford (Edmonton) and Trevor Harris (Saskatchewan); defensive linemen Bryce Carter and Lorenzo Mauldin IV, receiver Justin Hardy and linebacker Adarius Pickett (all Ottawa); offensive lineman Stanley Bryant and defensive end Willie Jefferson (both Winnipeg); defensive lineman Mathieu Betts (B.C.); and veteran kickers Rene Paredes (Calgary) and Sean Whyte (Lions).

As of Wednesday, players who have still not re-signed with their clubs include quarterback Nick Arbuckle (‘24 Grey Cup MVP), linebacker Wynton McManis, defensive linemen Jake Ceresna and Robbie Smith, running back Ka’Deem Carey, kick-returner Janarion Grant (league’s top special-teams player last season) and defensive backs Royce Metchie and DaShaun Amos, all of the Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts, receivers Steven Dunbar Jr. and Kiondre Smith (both of Hamilton), Justin McInnis (B.C.), Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen (Winnipeg) and Eugene Lewis (Edmonton).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press