Photo courtesy: Bob Butrym/RFB Sport Photography
The Edmonton Elks have officially signed offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey to a three-year contract, which makes him the CFL’s highest-paid Canadian non-quarterback and first National player to earn $300,000 per season. 3DownNation reported the agreement during the negotiation window.
Per sources, Woodmansey received a $100,000 signing bonus to ink the deal, which is worth $300,000 in hard money for 2026, 2027, and 2028. That totals $900,000 in hard money over the three-year term along with an additional $20,000 available in incentives. He becomes the highest-paid offensive lineman in the three-down league’s salary cap era and likely in history. His contract was negotiated by longtime agent Fred Weinrauch.
The 28-year-old was 3DownNation’s top ranked National blocker who made it to the window and open market. He was originally selected in the first round, fifth overall in the 2020 CFL Draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Woodmansey spent five seasons in the Hammer. The six-foot-four, 304-pounder dressed in 82 games with the Ticats. The University of Guelph product made 28 starts in 32 appearances with the Gryphons from 2016 through 2019. He was named a first-team Ontario University Athletics conference all-star in his senior season at Guelph along with a second-team All-Canadian selection.
The Toronto native attended the 2019 U Sports East-West Bowl. Woodmansey, along with other players in his draft class, were unable to participate in the 2020 CFL Combine as it was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Edmonton general manager Ed Hervey knows Woodmansey from time spent together with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2022 and 2023 when he was the team’s assistant GM. Edmonton senior assistant general manager and player personnel director, Spencer Zimmerman, spent the same two years in the Steel City with Hervey and Woodmansey.
Pending CFL free agents were able to communicate with teams around the league from February 1 to 8, during which time contracts could be negotiated and agreed upon but not signed. Starting, Tuesday, February 10 at noon EST, players can officially change teams.
Edmonton finished fifth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 7-11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Cody Fajardo started the team’s final 13 regular-season games and went 6-7, throwing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Tre Ford started the first five, going 1-4, and threw for 984 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
The Elks ranked ninth in net offence, ninth in net defence, and fifth with a turnover differential of plus-four. The team’s leading rusher was Justin Rankin with 1,013 yards, the leading receiver was Kaion Julien-Grant with 820 yards, and the leading tackler was Joel Dublanko with 80 tackles. Edmonton finished seventh in attendance with average crowds of 19,050, which was a 7.1 percent decrease from the previous year.