major announcement - big changes to cfl playoff and season start

[The Zipp]

almost everyone makes the playoffs...

may long regular season starts - direct competition with nhl playoffs

i like the new playoff format

[The Zipp]

TORONTO — The Canadian Football League (CFL) has finalized updates to the season schedule and reached an agreement with the CFL Players' Association (CFLPA) on a refreshed playoff format beginning in 2027.

The season will shift to begin Victoria Day Weekend, anchoring the start of each new CFL campaign with an iconic Canadian holiday and the unofficial start of summer. From May to Thanksgiving, long weekends will serve as defining moments in the regular season, creating new tentpole CFL traditions in addition to the league's legendary Labour Day Weekend games. The new start to the season also means the postseason will conclude earlier in the fall, taking full advantage of warmer weather for fans in attendance and providing prime playing conditions for CFL stars to showcase their skills.


 "All summer long, the CFL will be front and centre – exactly where it belongs. We're establishing CFL Long Weekends, from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving, to create can't-miss events for fans in the stadium and those watching at home," said Commissioner Stewart Johnston.

The roar of the season reaches a crescendo with a major update to the postseason. Four additional playoff games amp up late-season intrigue as teams battle for all-important playoff positioning. Finishing Top-2 in the divisions guarantees at least two playoff games. Postseason re-seeding – regardless of division – and two victories being required to advance to the championship introduces the possibility of postseason rematches, and new playoff and Grey Cup clashes.

"More games. More drama. More entertainment. That was the mission and that's exactly what this format will deliver," added the Commissioner. "We're raising the stakes so every game carries real consequences – more teams in the hunt, right to the end."

The league worked closely with the CFLPA to integrate the new structure into the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"This proposal sparked important and productive discussions, with a clear focus on ensuring our members benefit from any changes," said CFLPA Executive Director David Mackie. "It represents a meaningful step forward that supports both player compensation and the continued growth and excitement of the league, while reinforcing a framework where players share in that growth."


 

2027 KEY DATES

CFL Invitational Combine | February 26
CFL Combine presented by Anytime Fitness | Week of March 15
CFL Canadian Draft | April 13
CFL Global Draft | April 14
Rookie Camp Opens | April 21
Training Camp Opens | April 24
Week 1 | Victoria Day Weekend
Week 6 | Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day/Fête nationale du Québec (Que.)
Week 7 | Canada Day Weekend
Week 11 | August Long Weekend (Civic Holiday)
Week 16 | Labour Day Weekend
Week 21 | Thanksgiving Weekend
Playoffs
Round One – Division Showdowns and Play-In Games | October 15-16
Round Two – Elimination Games | October 23
Round Three – Grey Cup Semi-Finals | October 30
114th Grey Cup – November 7
NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT

ROUND ONE – TWO DIVISION SHOWDOWNS AND TWO PLAY-IN GAMES

Division Showdown: The first- and second-place teams in each division face off. Winners earn a bye to Round Three (Grey Cup Semi-Finals) with home-field advantage; losers move on to Round Two (Elimination Games).
Play-In Games: Teams finishing outside the Top-2 in each division are seeded Nos. 5-8, with No. 9 eliminated from playoff contention. The Play-In Games will see No. 5 host No. 8, and No. 6 host No. 7. Winnersadvance to Round Two, while losers are eliminated.
ROUND TWO – ELIMINATION GAMES

Division Showdown losers host Play-In Game winners with matchups based on regular-season records. Winners advance to Round Three (Grey Cup Semi-Finals) and losers are eliminated.
ROUND THREE – GREY CUP SEMI-FINALS

Division Showdown winners host Elimination Game winners with matchups based on regular-season record. Victors advance to the Grey Cup.

[blue_or_die]

wow.

[Jesse]

wow.

[blue_or_die]

Some initial thoughts (not exhaustive since this will take some time to digest):

- While it's a little comical that 8/9 teams make the playoffs, it was already viewed as that way anyway so nbd.

- The new format has some elements that make a lot of sense. But wow is it ever gimmicky. Some will view that as a feature, others as a bug

- Strikes a compromise of maintaining divisional rivalries but also seeding fairly so a weak east doesn't get any help

- I'm ok with May Long being the season kick-off but it'll take some getting used to.

- At the same time, the main reason moving the season up was popular was the get the season done before November. We add a playoff week so we're still finishing after Halloween every year.

- Playing the GC in November is great with me as that's a core tradition to me, but the CFL season is now 25 weeks. I wish they could eliminate 1-2 byes (I've always found it insane that we have 3 byes - understanding the issue of having an odd # of teams)

I guess that's all for now but I'm going to think about this more.

[Blue In BC]

Not sure I like the changes. I'd rather have the semi and finals be 2 game series. Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

[Jesse]

My initial reactions are mostly positive. I can accept the compromise between keeping the divisional structure and trying to make the play-off matches more fair. The new format means you have to win more than one game to reach the Grey Cup, which was always a little lame - but with only 6 teams, it was all you could do. The trade off to making the path more challenging was to add more teams.

That said, the East vs West Grey Cup is not necessarily in the cards anymore. The regular season becomes almost meaningless for half the league. Another massive change before even seeing the first wave of massive changes (or even seeing the exact language of new rules announced months ago) is setting themselves up for more criticism. The move up in schedule will be well received by many, but creates some challenges (the draft coming prior to the NFL's for one).

They might want to slow their roll on some things. Such massive changes are probably going to require trouble-shooting as new issues arise and they're not going to have the capacity to handle so many different things at once.

[The Zipp]

some really bad teams will be making the playoffs. some will say that is happening now though. 

Can't say they aren't trying new things to generate interest ...and while not everything will be a home run they are swinging that is for sure. 

can always tweak things if they become a disaster

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Might be hard for teams to sell playoff tickets if they only know a week in advance if they're hosting or on the road. 

Wait and see how this plays out, I don't think East vs. West format is necessary any longer, I'd rather see the 2 best teams compete for the Grey Cup.

[gobombersgo]

Might be hard for teams to sell playoff tickets if they only know a week in advance if they're hosting or on the road. 

Wait and see how this plays out, I don't think East vs. West format is necessary any longer, I'd rather see the 2 best teams compete for the Grey Cup.

So will the Bombers include 2 playoff games as part of their season ticket package?

I do like the possibility of going to 2 home playoff games.

[jets4life]

What's the point of even playing 18 games in the regular season, if playoffs are pretty much guaranteed?

Moving the schedule up to May Long, and ruining the November playoff/Grey Cup tradition is yet another bad move.

[Blue In BC]

What's the incentive to play well during the season? Last year all the western teams would have made the grade, Ottawa would have been the odd team out.

[blue_or_die]

Definitely hear ya on the regular season result's importance being severely diminished. And it's not like the NHL where you can have y/z v WC2 and have 7 games to sort out who's best statistically - in football it's any given Sunday and to give the worse teams a chance to knock out much better teams in a single game on a regular basis is problematic.

Real mixed bag here.

[Jesse]

What's the incentive to play well during the season? Last year all the western teams would have made the grade, Ottawa would have been the odd team out.

Well, you certainly want to be in the top 2 in your division. Generally, that will keep things competitive for most of the season until the possibility is mathematically eliminated. After that, it's a scramble to not be last for the bottom teams, which is a nice incentive not to tank.

[blue_gold_84]

That's basically my reaction.

May Long Weekend kicking off the 2027 season will be interesting considering how finnicky the weather can be that time of year.

The new playoff format seems to make the season redundant, but I'll reserve judgement until we see how it actually plays out.

It could make for a very different looking CFL come next year.

And here's the official link for anyone interested: Coming in '27