Stewart Johnston officially took office on April 24th, 2025, succeeding Randy Ambrosie, who held the position for just under 8 years. On September 22nd, less than 5 months after taking over, Johnston has put his stamp on the CFL that will resonate for many years to come. In this article, we will discuss how much Johnston has been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time in his newfound position.
First of all, I would like to begin this by saying I personally believe that the changes made to the rule book for the 2027 season are positive changes. However, this article is not intended to provide opinion-based analysis of what has transpired in such a short amount of time; this is simply to take a long look at how different the League could be in Johnston’s first full season as commissioner.
When Johnston took office, he vowed to listen, and more importantly, to focus on making the CFL the best league it can be with or without a tenth team. He mentioned focusing on creating a sustainable business model for teams by growing revenue streams, increasing exposure, and focusing on the entertainment value of the league.
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Lead Up to the Rule Changes
Something tells me that in the eyes of the commissioner, these rule changes offer small steps towards all three of those facets of his plan. These moves should increase excitement, reducing downtime between plays, improving player safety, while increasing point output. All of which will only help grow the league, and make lifelong fans out of first time viewers looking for a faster, and potentially more exciting game than the NFL or any other outdoor league can provide.
In the days leading up to Monday’s announcement, there were many reports that mentioned an “Americanization” of the CFL was coming. Speculation quickly ran rampant on social media, with fans and media pundits alike putting forth their theories for what was to come. This ranged from the addition of a 4th down, tweaks to the roster ratio, a larger emphasis on the global player program, and everything in between.
After seeing the changes, I have to wonder if the wording of some of these leaks was designed to have fans assume more dramatic changes were coming, intentionally downplaying the changes that did come. Any American-born fan will tell you CFL fans are extremely protective of their league and resistant to getting too far from what makes it great, and I don’t blame them in the slightest.
The Rule Changes
The biggest rule changes come in the field orientation. The league has opted to shorten the field to 100 yards, while also moving the goalposts to the back of the end zone. They are also reducing end zones from 20 yards deep to 15 yards. This limits the effect on field goal kickers, but it also slightly limits the offense in terms of how they can attack the end zones as well. Twenty Yards is a lot of real estate when there is no goal post in the center, limiting a substantial portion of that area.
Moving the goal post could significantly increase scoring in the red zone in future seasons. Currently, through 16 weeks, the CFL as a whole has scored 3,348 points or an average of 54 points per game. By comparison, per ProFootballReference.com, the NFL averaged 45 points per game, and the UFL averaged 41 points per game. The CFL averaged 9 more points per game than the NFL, and 13 more points per game than the UFL, having to play on a 110-yard field. Reducing the field size likely means quicker and more frequent scoring drives.
The median red-zone scoring percentages are where you see a significant difference. In the NFL, Miami sits in 16th with a 56.6% conversion rate, and Arizona has a 56.1%. We will call the median 56.35% for our purposes. UFL median was 57%, CFL with the current ruleset: 61%, and the league projects this could cause touchdown output to increase by 10% which, by their calculations, would account for roughly 60 more touchdowns each season.
Higher scoring typically means more exciting games, which will hopefully cater to fans hopefully converting casual fans into dedicated ones. With these changes in place, it would not shock me to see an average CFL game near 60 points per game in 2026. Couple this with efforts to increase league exposure, and the path to a larger audience for the CFL does not seem as convoluted as it did in years past.
Strategy Now Involved in Rouge’s
The league has also reduced the effect of the rouge. This will slightly counteract the increase in points, but it likely will not be a significant change. The thought process here is that teams will no longer be awarded for failure.
If the team kicking a field goal misses, there is no chance of them still putting points on the board during that miss. It makes field goals more risky, especially with the added distance from moving the goalposts back 15 yards. At this point, rouges will only be awarded when a returner fields the ball in the end zone and is unable to or chooses not to try to advance the ball. This will continue to push teams to return kicks, but also removes the possibility of missing a kick and still winning a game due to a rouge.
This rule feels like a much-needed overhaul of the rouge. While it is an exciting play during a return when the coverage team makes a big play and stops the returner in the end zone, it is not at all exciting to watch a team kick a field goal, watch it sail out of bounds, and gain a point to win the game. Another meaningful and logical change to the gameplay that adds strategy on special teams. Some teams may be less inclined to attempt long-range field goals, opting instead to punt.
Separate Sidelines
Multiple times just this season, fights have occurred due to the teams sharing a sideline. Sharing a sideline invites confrontation as players inevitably will be talking trash all game long, with no reprieve on the sideline either.
This situation boiled over several times in the past, and it never made sense why the league was hesitant to make the very simple logistical change to place the two teams on opposite sidelines. The thought is that providing some separation between the teams keeps the trash talk on the field of play and gives players time to calm down between series and collect themselves.
This should hopefully reduce the likelihood of there being a fight, while also aesthetically making the aerial views and sideline arrangements more visually appealing by splitting up the mass of players and coaches. This also should make for smoother, quicker player substitutions and even reduce the distance some players have to run to join the play by having teams more centrally located on the sidelines.
This feels like a change that should have happened decades ago. Much like moving the goalposts back, the logic and ability to avoid unnecessary risks to the players make these moves “no-brainers”. This rule change should draw very little ire from fans, as this doesn’t feel like an encroachment on what makes the CFL unique.
Play Clock Changes
The play clock will add 15 seconds, but will be automatically reset instead of being manually prompted to reset by the referees. This will remove the chances of inconsistent time between plays and promote a sense of urgency between plays. This will require some time for the refs to get used to, but when they do, this should dramatically reduce the time between plays throughout the game.
Streamlining games and potentially even shortening them slightly not only adds to the entertainment value by removing some of the choppiness of a CFL game by developing a rhythm, but it should help television partners schedule tighter windows for games. This should only help the league in the upcoming TSN broadcast negotiations. With the CFL/TSN broadcast contract expiring in 2026, Stewart Johnston is just getting started in terms of his impact on the game.
Final Thoughts
By this time in 2026, we may already be talking about how Johnston has accomplished more in less time than any CFL commissioner in recent memory. Not a bad start to his tenure as the man tasked with guiding the CFL into a new era, and correcting some problems that have been around since the inception of the league.
Too often, as football fans, we cling to nostalgia, not willing to let the game we love evolve for the better of everyone involved. We are all resistant to change, but it feels more intense when the changes are happening to one of the most unique and revered styles of football in the world. Although the game remains played on a 65-yard wide field, with 12 men, and 3 downs, these changes still feel substantial for fans who have grown accustomed to the intricacies of the game over the years. Slow and steady tweaks such as these will improve the game, but done incorrectly, they can alienate a fan base.
I believe Johnston and his staff have made the right decisions, balancing nostalgia, player safety, and the sanctity of the game we all love as CFL fans. If this is the hallmark of his tenure as commissioner, I have no doubt fans will follow along with his plans in the league. With the biggest changes out of the way, he can now go about focusing on the little details over the next two seasons to further tidy up the game, and keep the CFL’s image pristine as we move into the 2030s and beyond. There is no telling how long Johnston’s tenure will be, but he is already off to a fast start.
Sources: CFL.ca, YouTube.com, Wikipedia.org
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