2027 SMS increase

[Blue In BC]

Last year the increase was announced Jan 23. However it did seem teams knew in advance of that announcement.

The timing is very important over and above the amount.

Many players will be signed before the end of the season using the balance of SMS left from 2026.

Teams will want to game plan their direction in free agency and SMS comes into play in setting budgets.

Will we see more players " wait " and make decisions closer to the free agency period, or will many re-sign prior to the end of December?

[tlf]

Does Rourke negotiate a raise making 685k after what Kelly makes?

This is going to be a very interesting offseason.  Does Alexander stay in the CFL? He will cash in if he does.

I think players want to be paid now. They shouldn't, they should wait and their agents should tell them that. But they like the money and they will want to be paid because nothing is promised in this league.

I do not envy Walters or those doing signings. It will be a tough position to be in.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Does Rourke negotiate a raise making 685k after what Kelly makes?

This is going to be a very interesting offseason.  Does Alexander stay in the CFL? He will cash in if he does.

I think players want to be paid now. They shouldn't, they should wait and their agents should tell them that. But they like the money and they will want to be paid because nothing is promised in this league.

I do not envy Walters or those doing signings. It will be a tough position to be in.

Can't help but think the CFL is dipping into dangerous waters, over-extending themselves financially based on unproven or unreliable revenue.

[Jesse]

When Kelly was signed, i thought I read something about how theyd be strapped for 2027, but then it would get easier in 2028.

I guess the new revenues that are coming next year wont affect the cap until the following year, so im going to guess on the lower side of an increase for next year. Just however much the gambling revenue has increased year over year.

[Blue In BC]

Does Rourke negotiate a raise making 685k after what Kelly makes?

This is going to be a very interesting offseason.  Does Alexander stay in the CFL? He will cash in if he does.

I think players want to be paid now. They shouldn't, they should wait and their agents should tell them that. But they like the money and they will want to be paid because nothing is promised in this league.

I do not envy Walters or those doing signings. It will be a tough position to be in.

I'm wondering the same thing about those 2 QB's. I also agree with what TLB says in his post. It's dangerous ground.

In no circumstance can I figure out how Kelly will get $1M in 2027. Even if there is a large increase in the SMS, they just spent it on one player.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'm wondering the same thing about those 2 QB's. I also agree with what TLB says in his post. It's dangerous ground.

In no circumstance can I figure out how Kelly will get $1M in 2027. Even if there is a large increase in the SMS, they just spent it on one player.

Could end up being like Mike Reilly's last contract in BC, they signed a four-year, $2.9 million contract in 2019 and he only played 2 years of it because the rest of the team sucked so bad.

[gobombersgo]

I'm wondering the same thing about those 2 QB's. I also agree with what TLB says in his post. It's dangerous ground.

In no circumstance can I figure out how Kelly will get $1M in 2027. Even if there is a large increase in the SMS, they just spent it on one player.

200k is in marking money.

That is something the league needs to figure out and provide a level playing field for all teams.

Need a defined marketing money limit for all teams.

[Blue In BC]

200k is in marking money.

That is something the league needs to figure out and provide a level playing field for all teams.

Need a defined marketing money limit for all teams.

Yes we've discussed the issues with MM before. It does answer part of how Kelly is going to get such a big raise even if the SMS goes up. There is still a lot of ground to make up with the rest.

It's also been discussed how the intent of shared revenue makes no sense if all goes to one or a very small list of players.

There is the chance that the Argos need to shed SMS across the rest of their roster to accommodate his new salary. It didn't work for the Lions with Reilly. It may not work in Toronto.

[Tecno]

Here's the math.  I finally looked up the numbers:

83M/year DAZN instead of 50M/year TSN
33M extra *

CBA says players get 27% of increased revenue.  This is nothing but increased revenue.

33M * .27 = 8.91M

/ 9 teams = 0.99M per team

There is your BARE MINIMUM increase in SMS, per team, per year.

* Now, because TSN (and I'd assume CKY) is still showing most games, the amount we're talking could be vastly higher.  Let's say TSN pays $40M instead of $50M, to account for the "lost to DAZN" games.  Now you have 2.19M more SMS per team!!  (83+40-50)*.27/9

The ONLY 2 questions are:

a) When is the DAZN money recognized per CBA -- if DAZN money is recognized the following year, the '27 SMS will be unchanged, or just be a whatever rev increase we got in '26 ex-DAZN.  THIS IS THE LIKELY SCENARIO as per my understanding of the CBA.

b) Is the DAZN deal a flat $83M per year starting in year 1, or is it laddered so year 1 is maybe $53M (for example)?  That could mean slightly smaller SMS increases year 1, but huge increases year 10.  Still, the immediate increases would be historically large.

So the short answer to this poll is probably $100k because it's based on '26 revs.  But the answer you wanted is the $1M to start 2028.

[Tecno]

If the SMS is up $1M-$2M per team in 2028 then Kelly's contract looks like a good deal to lock in a top-3 QB long term.  Expect Rourke & Alexander's teams to renog to do the same, and expect many more 4 & 5 year contracts for anyone super-talented under the age of 30.

[Blue In BC]

Whatever the increase is, they need to develop a plan to increase across the roster. Kelly, Rourke and Alexander shouldn't get all the extra cash.

[Tecno]

Whatever the increase is, they need to develop a plan to increase across the roster. Kelly, Rourke and Alexander shouldn't get all the extra cash.

Well, I think we discussed the CBA has an option year to renog soon, like 0-2 years from now?  It will take a new CBA to force teams to do anything "fair" with the money.

Since we all know the CFL is a "QB league", and the #2 QBs largely suck rocks, and many teams' #1's are bad or over 80, any decent QB will command the bulk of the increases.  Maybe star RECs too... maybe.

How much better would our O have been with Alexander as our QB all season?  You can't put a dollar value on that.  But they will.  And it will be $1M...

[tlf]

Could end up being like Mike Reilly's last contract in BC, they signed a four-year, $2.9 million contract in 2019 and he only played 2 years of it because the rest of the team sucked so bad.

from 3down:
https://3downnation.com/2026/10/27/chad-kelly-becomes-first-1-million-player-in-cfl-salary-cap-era/

In 2027, Kelly can earn $1,041,050 in hard money. That includes a $750,000 signing bonus, $200,000 in marketing, $75,000 in base salary, and a $16,050 housing allowance. He can also earn up to $50,000 in performance bonuses if he reaches statistical benchmarks in passing yards and total touchdowns.

The hard money rises in each subsequent year, while the performance bonuses remain the same.

In 2028, the deal is worth $1,076,050 in hard money. That includes $505,000 in base salary, a $300,000 roster bonus on January 1, $200,000 in marketing, a $25,000 report-and-pass bonus, a $20,000 training allowance, and a $10,000 travel allowance.

In 2029, the deal is worth $1,111,050 in hard money. Financial terms remain the same, except the base salary, which grows to $540,000.

In 2030, the deal is worth $1,146,050 in hard money. Again, financial terms remain the same, though the base salary grows to $575,000.

Finally, in 2031, the deal is worth $1,181,050 in hard money, as the salary rises to $610,000 with the other financial terms remaining the same. Half the salary — $305,000 — is guaranteed.

travel, housing and training allowances.  Who needs a salary?

[Pete]

A couple of things
The minimum salary also goes up each year, something like 5000 for '27, doesn't sound like a lot but if it impacts 15 players per team that's 75k of the 100k increase

secondly in every league when the salary cap does go up significantly it is never spread out. The top players rake it in (ie Celebrini in the nhl with 20mil contract). In this case its the qbs that are the biggest impact players in the cfl)

Hopefully qb salary reset attracts more of the potential decent qbs south of the border who are not heading this way hoping for a shot at a practice roster spot in the nfl.

[Blue In BC]

Well, I think we discussed the CBA has an option year to renog soon, like 0-2 years from now?  It will take a new CBA to force teams to do anything "fair" with the money.

Since we all know the CFL is a "QB league", and the #2 QBs largely suck rocks, and many teams' #1's are bad or over 80, any decent QB will command the bulk of the increases.  Maybe star RECs too... maybe.

How much better would our O have been with Alexander as our QB all season?  You can't put a dollar value on that.  But they will.  And it will be $1M...

The current CBA had a revenue sharing concept. It's one thing to determine how to determine shared revenue. It's something they should have had a clear plan on how to apply that increase. They didn't.

Look up the definition of " shared ".  It won't say it all goes to a single person or a very small part of the organization.

I don't really care exactly how they " share " new revenue, but I could come up with a few fairly easily. None would say we get an extra $500K and the QB gets it all.

Will a $500K raise for Kelly change his performance?

I don't know whether it will attract more talented players. They still largely will be on ELC's and not become instant stars. It will mean more will be available when and if they succeed at a higher level.