While the NFL could be viewed as the world’s most luxurious football league, the same isn’t exactly thought of when it comes to the CFL.
The Canadian Football League has a historic place in the country’s sporting culture, but is generally viewed as a step down from its American counterpart and other major leagues in different sports across the continent.
And it appears plenty of the actual players in the league feel the same way.
The CFL Players Association dropped its annual club report cards on Tuesday, and the survey highlighted plenty of the highs and lows of playing pro football in Canada, with 495 players taking the time to respond.
Eight categories were graded: football operations, management, training/medical staff, equipment, family treatment, nutrition and diet, team travel, and training camp.
While there wasn’t an overall score officially given, Hamilton was the highest-ranked team based on their grades, ranking at a B- on average, and Edmonton was at the opposite end of the spectrum, ranking at a C on average, as well as having two Fs.
One notorious talking point about the players was the food offered to players — or the lack thereof.
“Need better food for practice and after the game. Cold pizza isn’t good enough,” one anonymous Edmonton Elks player wrote.
“No meals after game. Meals during the week we split half,” a BC Lions player added, while Montreal and Saskatchewan players added that there were issues with quality and options.
When it comes to the Lions, one player was direct that they didn’t feel the team was up to par in terms of the team’s practice facility in Surrey.
“BC Lions need a new facility. The team and staff does what it can. But things are unsatisfactory compared to other teams in the CFL.”
The defending CFL champion Toronto Argonauts also have their practice facility located at Lamport Stadium, a short physical distance from their home of BMO Field but often a long journey from their dressing rooms due to Liberty Village traffic.
“We’re travelling up to 30 minutes a day one way to practice off site. It adds an extra hour to our day,” one player said.
Paying for some of their own equipment was a concern in Toronto.
“We’re lucky if we get one pair of cleats here. It shouldn’t be a hassle to ask for a new pair of gloves or cleats. I buy a couple pairs of cleats every season and never get reimbursed for this,” an Argonauts player said.
Despite appearances in five straight Grey Cups, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers also had some pretty harsh words from a few players.
“I believe we have very poor travel out of Winnipeg for away games. We are placed in a very small transport plane with limited seating and very little leg room. We are fed cookies and goldfish and chips. It is very uncomfortable and everybody I know on the team dreads the away games,” one Winnipeg Blue Bombers player said, while another added that travel was “worse than Single-A baseball.”
“A third Blue Blue Bombers player described the team plane as “terrible and falling apart.”
The medical staff in Montreal was listed by multiple Alouettes players as a problem.
“I feel compromised when I’m injured,” one Montreal player said. “I always have to utilize a second opinion. I also have to go to another location to complete treatments because we do not have any modalities outside of a 20-year-old ultrasound machine.”
“Many issues this past year with therapy,” another Alouettes player said.
Several Calgary Stampeders players pointed to the need for a new field, though the survey was conducted prior to the news of McMahon Stadium adding new turf for 2025.
Another Stampeders player pointed to poor training facilities, saying that “most players have to get a gym membership to get a real workout during the season.”
The two listed Tiger-Cats complaints were both about family treatment.
One Tiger-Cats player called for a separate section for player families and partners, while another said that the team’s bye-week practice schedule often mixes in a day off after already returning to the facility for team meetings, and it screws up mid-season family time.
Interestingly, no Ottawa Redblacks players had written comments on the survey, though they finished third in the overall rankings by the association’s tally.