CFL to change when it begins its season and adopt new playoff format in 2027

Canadian Football League logo on a football at opening day of CFL training camp in Guelph, Ont., on Sunday, May 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn

TORONTO — The CFL will kick off its season earlier and revamp its playoff format in 2027.

Next year, the CFL’s regular season will kick off the Victoria Day weekend in May, its earliest start ever.

The ’26 campaign opens June 4 with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

But the bigger change revolves around the CFL playoffs format, which will see eight of the league’s nine teams making the post-season and three rounds before the Grey Cup game rather than two (division semifinal, final).

Starting next season, the first- and second-place teams in each division will square off in first-round playoff games. The winners earn a bye to the Grey Cup semifinals and home-field advantage. The losers move to the second playoff round (elimination games).

Teams outside of the top-two divisional finishers will be seeded from No. 5 to No. 9, with the final seed not qualifying for post-season play.

The fifth and sixth seeds will host the seventh and eighth seeds for play-in games that will be held the same weekend as the divisional contests. The play-in winners advance to the second round while the losers are eliminated.

The following weekend, the division showdown losers will host the play-in victors. The winners go on to the Grey Cup semifinals while the losers are eliminated.

The division showdown victors will host the elimination game winners, with matchups based on regular-season records. The winners advance to the Grey Cup game, which will be held Nov. 7.

The CFL and CFL Players’ Association both agreed upon the changes.

The 2027 CFL draft will be held April 13 with rookie camps opening April 21. Training camps will open three days later.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press