(file photo/CJME News Staff)

By CJME News Staff

league changes

‘Disgusting, long overdue:’ Changes to the CFL drawing mixed reactions

Sep 22, 2025 | 3:29 PM

Football coaches and former CFL players are reacting to the new changes coming to the league, but some are throwing flags on the field.

Changes are coming to the size and layouts of the field, the location of the goalposts, the single-point rouge and the play clock over the next two seasons.

CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston made the announcement Monday morning at a news conference, describing the changes as “a watershed moment” for the league.

In a post on social media, Scott MacAulay, coach of the Regina Thunder, said the changes “just screwed over amateur football.”

“So many high schools, universities, junior and minor teams play in places like Mosaic Stadium, but then also play in smaller stadiums like Leibel Field. They will now have to play two different types of games,” he said.

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He thinks the nine Rider home games a year don’t justify “the investment that was made by the Sask. government and the people of Saskatchewan.”

Peter Dyakowski, an offensive lineman who played in the CFL between 2007 and 2017, including a single season with the Roughriders, was also not so hot on the changes.

“This is disgusting,” Dyakowski said in a post to X.

“Dress it up how you like, but it’s simply Americanization of the CFL. Worse than I expected. One of history’s greatest acts of vandalism.”

In another post, Dyakowski said that Johnston’s comments, which suggest the Rouge is occasionally considered a reward for failure, show that he doesn’t understand the game.

“Football is a battle for field position. The rouge is a reward for success,” Dyakowski said. “Don’t want to give up a rouge? Don’t give up so many yards.”

Garnering some positive reaction

Troy Westwood, a kicker with 18 years of experience in the CFL, had a much more positive outlook on Monday’s announcement by the league.

“Moving the goalposts is long overdue,” Westwood said in a social media post.

“Makes scoring TDs safer and easier. A shortened field makes scoring TDs easier. More scoring is good. Smaller end zone is no biggie.”

But while Westwood took no issue with the changes, he joked that the change to the rouge would move him from the sixth all-time leading scorer down to 27th.

Milt Stegall, who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for 14 years and now serves as a CFL analyst for TSN, said updates and changes are inevitable if the league is to survive into the future.

“To those who believe the CFL need not change or evolve, such a mindset would lead to the demise of our great league,” Stegall wrote in a post on social media.

U SPORTS is the national brand of university sports in Canada.

In a post on social media, it said it will engage with its members and stakeholders to determine the “ramifications for U SPORTS football, and the best course of action.”

Incoming changes

In 2026, changes will be made to the rouge and the game flow.

According to the CFL, this change will increase the entertainment factor and no more games will be decided by a missed field goal, punt or kickoff that goes through the endzone.

To improve the game flow, team benches will move to opposite sides of the field. An automatic 35-second play clock will also begin as soon as the previous play is whistled dead.

In 2027, goalposts will be moved to the back of the end zone.

The field will also be adjusted. End zones will be changed from 20 yards deep to 15, and the field will be changed from 110 yards to 100.

The phased approach gives teams and stadiums time to make these changes ahead of the 2027 season.