{"id":714647,"date":"2026-06-04T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/714647\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:07:15","slug":"stewart-johnstons-brief-run-as-cfl-commissioner-has-brought-significant-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/714647\/","title":{"rendered":"Stewart Johnston\u2019s brief run as CFL commissioner has brought significant change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston addresses the media as he gives his 2025 CFL State of the League presentation in Winnipeg on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/John WoodsJOHN WOODS\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Stewart Johnston has wasted no time putting his stamp on the CFL.<\/p>\n

Since becoming commissioner April 24, 2025, the former TSN executive has made three major announcements. The most significant came last week when the CFL unveiled a mega six-year broadcast agreement<\/a> with Bell Media, DAZN and YouTube that begins in 2027.<\/p>\n

Financial figures weren\u2019t divulged, but a source told The Canadian Press the deal, all-in, is worth $500-million, making it the most lucrative broadcast agreement in league history. The CFL is entering the final season of its six-year television contract with TSN that paid it an average of $50-million annually.<\/p>\n

Johnston admits he didn\u2019t expect to be this busy this early into his tenure.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I probably didn\u2019t have this long of a list in mind,\u201d he said. \u201cThe one thing I did know is 2027 was coming at us, so negotiating that [TV] deal was going to be very, very important.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything else we\u2019ve been able to accomplish, I\u2019m incredibly proud of, but more importantly, I\u2019m just so excited to get to see what\u2019s going to be in 2027 and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s American broadcast contract with CBS Sports Network \u2013 which reportedly pays it $1-million annually \u2013 also expires at season\u2019s end. The CFL continues to examine all of its alternatives south of the border.<\/p>\n

The 2026 season kicks off Thursday with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Montreal Alouettes. But that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s time for Johnston to kick back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like to sit still, but I always make time for football,\u201d Johnston said. \u201cHowever, there are only three or four games [each week] \u2026 which leaves many, many other hours to keep working on growing this league.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition out there is too fierce to think you can rest on your laurels, and we have outstanding metrics to rest on. But if we aren\u2019t trying to continue to push to grow, we\u2019ll fall backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Lirim Hajrullahu (70) of the Toronto Argonauts kicks a field goal in a 2024 game, tying a franchise record with seven field goals in a game, playing against the Montreal Alouettes.Nick Iwanyshyn\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Before joining the CFL, Johnston had served as president of TSN since 2010. His appointment as commissioner was seen as a very strategic move by the league, given his understanding of the sports industry and experience negotiating broadcast deals.<\/p>\n

Last September, roughly five months on the job, Johnston announced a two-part plan to not only change the league\u2019s rules but also its field dimensions. This season, no points will be awarded for errant field goals, punts or kickoffs that go through the end zone \u2013 either in the air or via a bounce.<\/p>\n

Only when a returner fields a missed field goal, punt or kickoff in the end zone and either kneels or is tackled in the end zone trying to forward the ball will singles be awarded. Also, the CFL will use a 35-second play clock, although it will revert to 20 seconds in the final three minutes of each half. <\/p>\n

Next year, CFL fields will be reduced from 110 yards to 100 yards, and end zones will go from 20 yards to 15 yards. Goalposts will be moved from the goal-line to the back of the reconfigured end zones.<\/p>\n

Last month, Johnston announced the CFL was revamping its playoff format. Starting in 2027, eight of its nine teams will qualify<\/a> for the postseason, which will consist of four rounds instead of three.<\/p>\n

To accommodate the extended postseason, the CFL will begin the 2027 campaign on the Victoria Day weekend in May \u2013 two weeks earlier than normal. The Grey Cup will be played Nov. 7 in Regina. <\/p>\n

That means training camps will open in late April.<\/p>\n

Reaction to Johnston\u2019s moves hasn\u2019t been all positive.<\/p>\n

He received media and fan criticism regarding both the changes to the field and the new playoff format. And even with the TV agreement, many CFL supporters flocked to social media to express their dissatisfaction with having to subscribe to DAZN to gain access to the 21 games that will be exclusively carried by the streaming service.<\/p>\n

Johnston said while the new broadcast agreement wasn\u2019t contingent upon the earlier changes, corporate Canada took notice of those moves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese modern media partners certainly appreciate innovation and, frankly, they appreciate confidence and courage to try and push forward,\u201d Johnston said. \u201cMany others stood up, took notice and engaged with us.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of that together, I\u2019d say, they were very important pieces in the overall strategy of our media negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnston has also shown he\u2019s a quick learner. During the CFLPA\u2019s 2025 Grey Cup address, president Solomon Elimimian expressed disappointment that the union wasn\u2019t consulted about the changes unveiled two months earlier.<\/p>\n

Following the new playoff format announcement, Johnston appeared on TSN\u2019s broadcast of the \u201926 CFL draft with CFLPA executive director David Mackie to discuss the move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston addresses the media as he gives his 2025 CFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714648,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,521,875,522,520,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-714647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadian-news","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}