Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
After the Saskatchewan Roughriders made Samuel Emilus the highest-paid Canadian receiver in the CFL, many wondered if there would be enough room within the 2026 salary cap to re-sign fan favourite Kian Schaffer-Baker.
“That’s still to be determined, I’d say that becomes difficult, but we’ll continue to work through those guys. I don’t know if Sam’s contract is going to directly affect just one player, if you’re asking, I don’t know if that’s the way it works,” general manager Jeremy O’Day told 3DownNation from the winter meetings in Calgary.
“We have to decide where you allocate your dollars and your cap, whether you utilize those at the same position, or whether you have to use them in other places. Possible, but still to be determined. It’s possible, but we’re still going through it. There’s still a number of weeks before free agency, so we’ll have to see how it plays out. Can you fit them both? I would say yes. We’ll have to see how that works out.”
Schaffer-Baker was the 10th-highest paid receiver in the CFL last season. He played in five regular-season games, recording 15 receptions for 177 yards. The six-foot-four, 195-pound pass catcher missed 13 games due to a foot injury sustained in Week 1. In the West Final, the University of Guelph product registered three catches for 56 yards with one touchdown and added three grabs for 27 yards in the 112th Grey Cup win.
Per three-down league sources, Emilus signed a two-year contract extension worth $285,000 in hard money for 2026. He’s set to earn $290,000 in hard money in 2027, which includes a $100,000 base salary guarantee. That’s over $100,000 more than what the 28-year-old made last season.
“When you’re giving out contracts to that magnitude, it has to be a very special player and that’s what Sam is. A lot of times you see highlights of Sam making big plays or scoring touchdowns, but you don’t see a lot of the grittiness that he brings to the table. A guy that blocks for his teammates, the guy that will do anything the coaches ask, whatever it takes to win,” O’Day said.
“That’s what Sam will do for the team, quiet in nature, but big in his play. Great in the locker room. Obviously, he was a special player down the stretch, does all the little things right. We feel like he’ll continue to grow and have a great career. Super excited when we go through the draft process, put up characteristics of players and physical traits, Sam meets them all and has proven that he can play at a high level.”
Through 57 career CFL regular-season games with the Roughriders, Emilus has registered 204 receptions for 2,914 yards, including 999 yards after the catch, and 13 touchdowns with a 14.3 per catch average. He’s played in four playoff games, recording 32 catches for 372 yards with one touchdown.
“We show clips after games of positives, and I never on purpose show Sam scoring touchdowns and making huge catches, it’s strictly what he does for his teammates when he does not have the ball. He understands the ethos of the selflessness of what we are and who we want to be,” head coach Corey Mace said.
“On top of that, he’s damn good at catching the ball, YAC-ing it up and scoring points for us. Personal opinion, I don’t care the passport, he’s one of the top receivers in the league, one of top players in the league. Outstanding human being. Just about business. Man, happy, happy, happy, happy Sam plays for us.”