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Habakkuk Baldonado has pushed confidence in Global athletes in the Canadian Football League to a new level.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old maximized his earning potential for the 2026 CFL season, becoming the highest-paid Global in three-down league history by a considerable margin. He represented himself through the free agency process and negotiated a contract with the Ottawa Redblacks worth $185,000 in hard money plus an additional $9,000 possible in sacks, all-star and award incentives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an indication that I\u2019m going the right way\u00a0and I\u2019m doing the right things. The work is not done, there\u2019s a lot more that needs to be done,\u00a0but you gotta celebrate the small wins. This is a small win for me,\u00a0for the Global movement,\u00a0and for a lot of other people,\u201d Baldonado told 3DownNation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in the NFL\u00a0and then I was in the CFL,\u00a0but both times I was under rookie contracts,\u00a0so I never had to deal for new contracts. You have to know your worth,\u00a0be realistic with it, there\u2019s no point in being unrealistic, then stand your ground,\u00a0ask for what the market says\u00a0and what other people say your true worth is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baldonado started five games for the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the 2025 regular season. He recorded 17 defensive tackles, four sacks and one forced fumble in his best CFL season to date. The six-foot-four, 251-pound pass rusher started the West Final and 112th Grey Cup for the Green and White, helping the Riders win the franchise\u2019s fifth CFL championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game before I got a high ankle sprain\u00a0and I tore a ligament in my ankle,\u00a0so I wasn\u2019t even supposed to play. In my opinion,\u00a0it wasn\u2019t even that good of a game\u00a0because I was hurt, so I couldn\u2019t really push it.\u00a0I had my ankles taped,\u00a0I had a lidocaine shot in the ankle,\u00a0I pushed it through. The team needed me and other players,\u00a0so I made it work,\u201d Baldonado said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole week I walked with a boot.\u00a0I tried to not wear the boot\u00a0every time that there were cameras around.\u00a0I did a little bit of practice because they wanted to make sure\u00a0that I was gonna be able to play in the game. Initially, the doctors told me it was gonna be impossible,\u00a0I was not gonna be able to play,\u00a0but I did a little more every day\u00a0until the game, and I showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite playing through an injured and frozen ankle, Baldonado stood out on coach tape from the Grey Cup win to talent evaluators around the league. He registered two tackles as Saskatchewan beat Montreal 25-17 while being moved around as a versatile chess piece within Corey Mace\u2019s defence. In two playoff starts, the University of Pittsburgh product notched six tackles and one sack, taking down Most Outstanding Player Nathan Rourke.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan selected Baldonado in the second round, 12th overall during the 2023 Global Draft. He played out his three-year rookie contract with the Roughriders, displaying improvement each season and wanted to sign an extension to stay with the Green and White. The Rome, Italy native had become comfortable in Regina, developed relationships with his teammates and coaches, plus he knew the defensive playbook. Those reasons would have made it easier for him to remain with the Riders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a business, of course,\u00a0so I understand how some teams approach it, but at some point, teams become disrespectful. You have to know your value, you can\u2019t allow people to disrespect you\u00a0and try to sell you short for what you actually worth,\u201d Baldonado said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how they always start \u2014\u00a0I was blown with them. They tried to shoot some super low offers at the beginning. Some players that don\u2019t have experience, which I didn\u2019t have for example,\u00a0but some of my friends didn\u2019t have as well, they got them with the low offers. This is our job, this is our livelihood. I understand the business part,\u00a0but there\u2019s a personal part as well,\u00a0where I feel sometimes those lines cross too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the three-down league\u2019s negotiation window opened, Baldonado stated he heard from a \u201ccouple teams\u201d but declined to share specific franchises. Even though he felt disrespected by Saskatchewan\u2019s low offers, No. 95 said he gave the Roughriders a chance until the last second at a discounted rate, but it didn\u2019t work out. Less than 20 hours after signing his contract with the Redblacks<\/a>, according to the rising defensive end, an undisclosed NFL team called and wanted to \u201cbring him in,\u201d however it was too late.<\/p>\n \u201cA goal of mine has been to try to expand the game\u00a0and make all these levels recognize\u00a0there\u2019s a lot of great players around the world, it\u2019s not just Americans and Canadians. I\u2019m actually proud to be able to say\u00a0I\u2019m trying to raise the standard\u00a0and set the bar higher\u00a0because there\u2019s a lot of great international players,\u201d Baldonado said.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing global is not always the easiest, it can be a little bit of a handicap\u00a0because you might not get the looks that you deserve\u00a0or you might not get the same opportunities\u00a0or the same paycheques because of ratios or because of reasons\u00a0or because you\u2019re just labeled as a Global. I love that I\u2019m setting this standard\u00a0and I wanna keep fighting\u00a0for the Globals and international players.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldonado has proven he can adapt and thrive playing football in new countries and cities. Ottawa, our nation\u2019s capital, becomes his latest stop on a football journey that\u2019s taken him from Italy to Florida to Pennsylvania to Saskatchewan and now Ontario.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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