{"id":2026,"date":"2026-08-10T11:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T17:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/?p=2026"},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:07:23","slug":"highest-paid-cfl-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/sports-betting-and-news\/highest-paid-cfl-player\/","title":{"rendered":"The CFL’s highest-paid players: Nathan Rourke is No. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like in the NFL, the list of highest-paid CFL players begins with quarterbacks. In fact, the nine largest salaries in the league belong to the nine QBs who started the season as their team’s presumptive No. 1s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the second year in a row, the highest-paid CFL player is Lions pivot Nathan Rourke<\/strong> at $684,700. The Victoria, B.C. native and Ohio alum is a two-time winner of the Jon Cornish Trophy as the NCAA\u2019s top Canadian and was First-Team All MAC in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s spent some time on NFL rosters but has never registered a pass attempt (even trying out as a wide receiver with the Giants). In the CFL he was named the 2025 Most Outstanding Player and is a two-time Most-Outstanding Canadian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto\u2019s Chad Kelly<\/strong>, Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly\u2019s nephew, ranks second. The highest-paid non-quarterback is Elks offensive lineman Coulter Woodmansey<\/strong> at $300,000. The top defensive players among the the CFL\u2019s highest-paid players are linemen Mathieu Betts<\/strong> of B.C and Malik Carney<\/strong> of Edmonton at $270,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the Top 25 \u2014 27 thanks to ties \u2014 only three are defensive players, Betts, Carney and Ottawa linebacker A.J. Allen<\/strong> ($240,000). In the offence-first CFL, that only makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      The 25 highest-paid CFL players<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      RANK<\/strong><\/td>PLAYER<\/strong><\/td>TEAM<\/strong><\/td>SALARY <\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
      1<\/td>Nathan Rourke, QB<\/td>B.C. <\/td>$684,700<\/td><\/tr>
      2<\/td>Chad Kelly, QB<\/td>TOR <\/td>$625,000<\/td><\/tr>
      3<\/td>Zach Collaros, QB<\/td>WPG <\/td>$550,000<\/td><\/tr>
      4<\/td>Vernon Adams Jr., QB<\/td>CGY <\/td>$500,000<\/td><\/tr>
      5<\/td>Bo Levi Mitchell, QB<\/td>HAM <\/td>$485,300<\/td><\/tr>
      6<\/td>Trevor Harris, QB<\/td>SSK <\/td>$455,300<\/td><\/tr>
      7<\/td>Davis Alexander, QB<\/td>MTL <\/td>$404,000<\/td><\/tr>
      8<\/td>Cody Fajardo, QB<\/td>EDM <\/td>$395,500<\/td><\/tr>
      9<\/td>Dru Brown, QB<\/td>OTT <\/td>$321,000<\/td><\/tr>
      10<\/td>Coulter Woodmansey, OL<\/td>EDM <\/td>$300,000<\/td><\/tr>
      11<\/td>Brady Oliveira, RB<\/td>WPG <\/td>$290,000<\/td><\/tr>
      12<\/td>Keon Hatcher Sr., REC<\/td>B.C. <\/td>$287,500<\/td><\/tr>
      T-13<\/td>Dakoda Shepley, OL<\/td>TOR <\/td>$285,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-13<\/td>Samuel Emilus, REC<\/td>SSK <\/td>$285,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-13<\/td>Ryan Hunter, OL<\/td>TOR <\/td>$285,000<\/td><\/tr>
      16<\/td>Tyson Philpot, REC<\/td>MTL <\/td>$275,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-17<\/td>Mathieu Betts, DL<\/td>B.C. <\/td>$270,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-17<\/td>Malik Carney, DL<\/td>EDM <\/td>$270,000<\/td><\/tr>
      19<\/td>Kenny Lawler, REC<\/td>HAM<\/td>$263,700<\/td><\/tr>
      20<\/td>Justin McInnis, REC<\/td>B.C. <\/td>$255,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-21<\/td>Drew Desjarlais, OL<\/td>OTT <\/td>$250,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-21<\/td>Logan Ferland, OL<\/td>SSK <\/td>$250,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-21<\/td>Jarell Broxton, OL<\/td>WPG <\/td>$250,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-24<\/td>A.J. Allen, LB<\/td>OTT <\/td>$240,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-24<\/td>Pier-Olivier Lestage, OL<\/td>MTL <\/td>$240,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-24<\/td>Zack Williams, OL<\/td>CGY<\/td>$240,000<\/td><\/tr>
      T-24<\/td>Nic Demski, REC<\/td>WPG<\/td>$240,000<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      *Thanks to the good folks at 3DownNation<\/a> for their dogged reporting on these salaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Interested in betting on football, but not sure where to start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      This article\u00a0walks you through the sportsbook<\/a>, explaining odds, terms, bet types, tactics and more. Consider it your\u00a0sports betting<\/a>\u00a0playbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Feature image courtesy THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Steve Dunsmoor.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \"ToonieBet<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      This content is provided for general informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute betting advice, financial advice, or a recommendation to place any wager. Odds are subject to change. Online wagering involves risk, and there is no guarantee of success or profit. For Ontario residents, participation in regulated online gaming is restricted to individuals 19 years of age or older. Please play responsibly. If gambling is no longer fun or may be causing harm, support is available through recognized gambling resources like ConnexOntario<\/a>. Terms and conditions apply where applicable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Like in the NFL, the list of highest-paid CFL players begins with quarterbacks. In fact, the nine largest salaries in the league belong to the nine QBs who started the season as their team’s presumptive No. 1s. For the second year in a row, the highest-paid CFL player is Lions pivot Nathan Rourke at $684,700. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,64],"tags":[104,93],"class_list":["post-2026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-sports-betting-and-news","tag-cfl","tag-football"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2026"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2032,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026\/revisions\/2032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tooniebet.ca\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}