Maciocia on rule changes: [the game] needed a facelift

On Monday, CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston announced a series of changes that would be coming to the league over the next two seasons. The reaction from fans was mixed. Some purists couldn’t understand why such drastic changes needed to be made, while others embraced the commissioner’s vision.

As of 2026, the play clock will go from 20 seconds to 35 seconds, which should improve the pace of the play. Yes, the clock will have 15 extra seconds on it, but it will start rolling as soon as the previous play concludes. Currently, the play clock only starts when the referee signals for the countdown to begin. Often, that takes more than 15 seconds.

“I think [the game] needed a little bit of a facelift,” Als general manager Danny Maciocia said during Tuesday’s practice. “I think it needed some refreshing. I don’t think it’s too drastic. We’re still Canadian. We haven’t touched the ratio; we’re still three downs and its unlimited motion. We don’t have the fair catch. We just tweaked it a bit. I think you need to be open-minded.”

But there are questions that come with the play clock changing. The most pressing question is how it will affect the final three minutes of games. Many games currently come down to the wire because the game clock only starts running on the referee’s whistle. That won’t be the case anymore. Will the league make separate rules that will be applied for the three-minute warning?

“We now have the 35-second clock, but will there be other factors we can consider in the final three minutes? Right now, we have one timeout. Can we add a second or a third one? If that’s the case, we can continue to have spectacular endings to our games,” added Maciocia. “Those are all conversations that will be had in the next few months. So, we’ll have a 35-second play clock, but how it’s applied is still yet to be determined.”

Team benches will also be on opposite sides of the field in all stadiums. Only a handful of CFL stadiums have both squads facing each other on the sideline. In Montreal, for example, the two teams are on the same side of the field. This complicates substitutions and creates potential conflicts between teams.

The ‘rouge’ rule will also be modified starting in 2026. A kick that goes straight out of play will no longer result in the kicking team getting a point. So, if a kicker misses a field goal that exits the back of the end zone without being returned, the kicking team wouldn’t be awarded a point. If a returner has an opportunity to field the ball but doesn’t get it out of the end zone, the kicking team would then receive the point.

In 2027, there are changes to the field of play. The goal posts will move from the front of the end zone to the back of the end zone. The field will go from 110 yards to 100 yards, meaning that the 55-yard line will no longer exist.

The end zone will shrink by five yards from 20 to 15 yards, but the goal posts being placed at the back of the end zone should allow for the front of the scoring zone to become more of an option for offences.

The biggest unanswered question on everybody’s mind is on how this will affect university and grassroots football. Will universities be ready to spend the money necessary to make changes to their respective home fields?

“I don’t think we should change all the field across Canada,” Maciocia explained.

“I think that universities could have to make a decision. That’s who these changes could affect. Nine venues would be affected across the league. Four down football is still played in high schools across the province. They also don’t play one yard off the ball. There are rules that are a little different. In university football, they kick off from the 45-yard line. They also never adjusted the point after when we changed the rule. The CFL will have a conversation with U Sports and we’ll see if they decide to make the changes we suggested. If they continue with the status quo, we’ll adapt.”