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CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston has promised greater transparency with fans, and it appears that could extend to the financial details of players’ contracts.

At his State of the League address, Johnston expressed an openness to the idea of making player salaries public, as is the case for multiple professional leagues around the world, including the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB.

“I haven’t had that as a discussion topic so far,” he said. “That’s probably one that can go into our January winter meetings, but yes, (I’m open to it). I want to make sure our fans have as much access to data as possible in our league, and the negotiation list was a start to that.”

Johnston broke with decades of league policy and tradition when he permanently publicized the negotiation lists of all nine teams in July. That process of claiming and holding the rights to future players was previously a closely guarded secret, with intermittent reveals only exposing a fraction of the prospects in recent years. Now, fans can track which players are being added or dropped to their team’s list via a page on the league’s website, which updates daily.

A similar function for player salaries has long been desired by fans, though Johnston cannot unilaterally create one as he did with the negotiation list. Publicizing the financial details of contracts would require approval from the CFL Players’ Association (CFLPA), though their leadership also indicated they are willing to explore the possibility.

“This has been a conversation for a number of years through our AGMs,” CFLPA executive director David Mackie said during his State of the Union address. “What’s important for us is the privacy of our membership, but there may be an appetite there. If the commissioner says it will be on their agenda in January, we’ll ensure that conversation takes place.”

Making salaries public in other leagues has created engagement opportunities for fans. Multiple websites have been created to build rosters and identify which players the teams can afford, ensuring that the offseason conversations are as rigorous as the ones on gameday.

The CFL has not gone that route in part due to concerns that the comparably low salaries of players compared to their millionaire peers in the NFL might be a source of embarrassment. However, with a minimum salary of $70,000, which is above the national average, and the average player making around $100,000 nowadays, current CFL athletes arguably earn more than public perception.

With the league’s salary cap evolution over the last few years, CFLPA president Solomon Elimimian believes making salaries public could help that dynamic.

“I think there are some pros of having open salary disclosures,” he said. “There is a way you can market the game. Let’s be honest, everything is quick and digital. Fans want different perspectives of the game they love. There might be some cons to it as well. We’ll have a discussion internally, and we’ll have conversations with the CFL.”

Salary disclosures are not a new topic of discussion. However, with the league’s new leadership, the talks might get more serious in the next few months. 

“It’s been discussed at the last two or three AGMs,” Mackie said. “The reason the conversation took place was to see if there is an appropriate way to market this right, and if it does grow the perception and the professionalism of the league. We’ll continue that conversation.”

Commissioner Johnston plans to publish the agenda for this year’s winter meetings in the coming weeks. With mutual interest from both sides on this topic, it may not be the last previously internal information he publishes.