Ottawa Redblacks fined for exceeding 2025 CFL salary cap

The Canadian Football League has fined the Ottawa Redblacks for exceeding the 2025 salary expenditure cap.

The Redblacks will be forced to pay $18,002 for their violation, a dollar-for-dollar amount equal to the team’s overage of the limit. The violation does not impact the selection order for the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft on April 28.

Ottawa did not parlay its extra spending into on-field success, as the team finished in last place with a 4-14 record and missed the playoffs. Head coach Bob Dyce was fired after the season, and the franchise has since brought in Ryan Dinwiddie to be both head coach and general manager. Former GM Shawn Burke is now vice-president of football operations.

The 2025 CFL salary cap was set at $6,062,365 — an amount that was more than $400,000 more than teams originally anticipated due to the league’s revenue-sharing agreement with the Players’ Association. Teams also received a $50,000 salary cap exemption after a grievance was filed by the CFLPA. As a result, no other team exceeded the maximum limit.

According to CFL bylaws, teams that exceed the salary cap by less than $100,000 receive a dollar-for-dollar fine. Violations of up to $300,000 receive a fine of double the amount in excess and result in the forfeiture of the team’s next available first-round pick, while anything more than that generates a fine of three times the additional amount and the loss of a team’s next second-round pick.

The league office fines any team penalized for a salary cap violation in the form of withheld monthly equity payments. The money is then evenly distributed to the teams that were salary cap compliant. In this case, the other eight franchises will receive an additional $2,250.25 each.

Four teams went over the CFL salary cap in 2024, most notably the B.C. Lions, who forfeited their first and second round CFL Draft choices due to a $347,889 violation. They also received a fine of $643,667. The Toronto Argonauts went over by $87,103, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were forced to pay $40,121, and the Redblacks also incurred a fine of $22,914.

Ottawa was a big spender in free agency this offseason, bringing in high-priced players like A.J. Allen, C.J. Reavis, Habakkuk Baldonado, Greg Bell, and Jake Maier. The 2026 CFL salary cap is set at $6,280,514.

The Redblacks hold the first overall pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. All CFL training camps are scheduled to open on May 10. The team will play its first preseason game against the Montreal Alouettes on Friday, May 22, and its first regular-season game against the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, June 6.

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