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Published Sep 24, 2025 • 4 minute read
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira (right) is tackled by Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Malik Carney during the first half of CFL football action in Regina on Aug. 31, 2025. Photo by Heywood Yu /The Canadian PressArticle content
He was voted not only the top Canadian in the league last season but also the top player, overall.
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So, like star Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke in B.C., what Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira says matters.
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The Winnipegger was as taken aback as anybody when commissioner Stewart Johnston announced the CFL’s change of direction this week.
“The rules caught me off guard a little bit,” Oliveira said on Wednesday. “I didn’t think there needed to be any rule changes. Getting rid of the 55-yard line, I don’t know why that’s even a thing. Why did they shorten it by 10 yards?”
Going into Monday’s big announcement, Oliveira thought it might be about a big new TV deal. That’s something he would have got excited about.
Instead, he’s left wondering if the changes, particularly the shortened field and moving the goal posts to the back of the end zone, will even make for a better game.
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“Is that really going to increase touchdowns? Right now we don’t really know,” he said. “They think it’s going to be a more entertaining and exciting game. Even if I think it already is a very entertaining game. I guess we just have to wait and see.”
Oliveira feels for teammates Trey Vaval, the Bombers rookie sensation as a kick returner, and veteran kicker Sergio Castillo, both of whom will see their jobs lose some relevancy.
“We just saw it this past week with Trey,” Oliveira said, referring to Vaval’s missed-field-goal returns of 128 and 71 yards against Ottawa. “Incredible. Will you see that anymore? That’s going to be out of the game. That’s what makes the CFL so amazing, especially with that return game.”
Vaval went from setting a CFL record for missed-field-goal return yards on Saturday to, two days later, watching a former TV executive and rookie commissioner cut a third of his job off at the knees.
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“Pretty sad,” Vaval said. “As a returner, this league’s unique. That was something we didn’t ever do back in the United States, so that was pretty cool. So yeah, I’m pretty sad. But … we’ve still got punts and kick return, so can’t complain about that.
“I can’t dwell on it. I can’t change it.”
The league says the moves will reduce the number of field goals and increase the number of touchdowns.
Time will tell. Meanwhile, two things that make the three-down game unique will be erased.
From Missouri, Vaval can empathize with homegrown players such as Oliveira and Rourke. The Lions quarterback called the changes “garbage” in a heartfelt response on Monday.
“I feel for the guy,” Vaval said. “He’s a Canadian guy, grew up with this game. I feel his pain.”
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You don’t have to be from north of the border to question the moves.
“That’s a huge play within the CFL,” Texas product Willie Jefferson said of the missed-field-goal return. “That’s a staple play … a swing most Canadians grew up anticipating. They’re going for a 55, 60-yard field goal, it’s a possibility it’s going to be missed, so it’s going to be a return. Now we’re taking that play away.
“It’s something that Canadians are going to have to get used to.”
The star defensive end can’t believe the league didn’t consult players, particularly those from Canada.
“It was wild to me,” Jefferson said. “Just to not have a say in the changes … especially when it’s a player-driven league. For the commissioner to just come in and make some rule changes and not see how the players felt about it and where we wanted to go with it – talking to the guys in the locker-room and the guys around the league, it’s not a good look.”
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Oliveira agrees.
“Guys like (Rourke) and Canadian coaches that are very passionate about this league, owners, GMs that are Canadian … maybe have a conversation,” he said. “Just have that discussion. I feel for the people that are upset about this.”
Some worry this is simply the start of a slippery slope to more Americanization of the CFL down the road.
“They better not be getting rid of more of the uniqueness of the Canadian game,” Oliveira said. “We still have other great things: 12 men on the field, the waggle … the ratio makes this great game, with so many amazing Canadian products on the field that Canadians are proud to watch. So we still have that to hold very close to our heart.
“Hopefully this isn’t just small changes that will continue to get bigger as the years go on.”
The league’s top player has another hope: That the league’s higher-ups actually know what they’re doing.
“I just want this league to continue to grow,” he said. “And if that’s what they think is going to happen by making these decisions, then I’m on board. Hopefully they have our best interests in mind.”
paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca
X: @friesensunmedia
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