CFL announces field, rules changes that align closer with NFL

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The Canadian Football League on Monday unveiled a two-year plan to introduce dramatic changes to the rules and dimensions of the sport.

The more drastic changes are reserved for 2027, and they’ll result in the Canadian game looking more like American football. Goalposts will be moved to the back of the end zone, and the field will be shortened from 110 yards between the goal lines to 100 yards, the same as the NFL.

The CFL at that time will also shorten end zones from 20 to 15 yards deep — the NFL’s are 10 yards — but the field will retain its unique width of 65 yards.

Those changes, according to the league, are part of an effort to facilitate more offense. The league’s announcement even stated a projection of 10 percent more end zone completions and 60 more touchdowns per season by removing the “obstruction” of the goalposts.

“This is all about making our great game even more entertaining,” CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston said in a statement. “We are trading field goals for touchdowns, while improving fan experience in stadiums and at home.

“These changes are the most significant in decades. We are retaining the unique elements upon which our traditions stand, but innovating where change is needed to evolve our world-class game.”

A different set of rule changes will be introduced for 2026.

The 20-second play clock, initiated by an official once teams are set at the line of scrimmage, will be replaced by a 35-second play clock that automatically begins after the previous play, another similarity to the NFL’s rulebook.

The league is requiring all stadiums to have benches on opposite sidelines. At present, some fields have benches side-by-side on the same field, which often forces substitutes to run 50 or more yards from the far bench to the line of scrimmage.

Finally, the CFL is keeping but modifying one of its unique rules, the one-point play called the “rouge” or “single.”

Missed field goals wide of the goalposts no longer will award teams one point, nor will kicks that roll out the back or sides of an end zone untouched. Singles will still be awarded if a kickoff, field goal attempt or punt settles in the end zone without being returned.

“The change eliminates games being decided by a missed field goal, punt or kickoff through the end zone,” the league’s announcement said.

The commissioner praised the league’s board of governors for unanimously approving the changes.

“These changes are about improving something that is already great,” Johnston said. “They are rooted in data and analytics; they have been thoughtfully and carefully considered. But they are big and bold because that’s what’s necessary to make our fantastic game even more entertaining, and to win in the attention economy.”

–Field Level Media