CFL Fantasy Football

Like most fantasy sports, CFL fantasy football betting has become a lot more popular in recent years. It has been a boon for the CFL as a whole, as fantasy sports are proven to increase the interest in and popularity of that sport. A CFL fantasy league also has an advantage because it’s built in a similar way to those that focus on the much more popular NFL.

It uses the same format as NFL fantasy leagues both for how rosters are set up and how fantasy points are scored. A CFL fantasy football roster will usually consist of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one flex (either another running back or another receiver), and one team defense. 

There is, however, no CFL fantasy draft like you usually get when playing NFL fantasy games. Instead you get a salary cap and each week you will have to choose the best group of seven players who you think will go for the most yards and score the most touchdowns in that upcoming game week, as yards and touchdowns are how fantasy points are scored. The caveat is that players have salaries based on their quality, so you need to find a way to put together a good roster while remaining under the salary cap.

There are some leagues where you have a weekly head to head matchup, but the bigger CFL fantasy providers such as CFL.ca and TSN have a leaderboard for the season and for each week to compare yourself against the competition. Whether you’re doing it in a league with friends or in a larger online competition, CFL fantasy will help you dive into the CFL and become a true fan!

CFL fantasy football is relatively unique on the North American fantasy sports landscape, so there are a few things to ensure you’re aware of before you get involved with CFL fantasy. To help set you off on the right foot here, we’ve put together guidelines and compiled the most crucial information you’ll need to have CFL fantasy success.

CFL Fantasy Terminology

To have success with sports betting or fantasy sports, you need to know what you’re dealing with, and if you don’t know or recognize the terminology being used, you’re going to have a tough time getting to where you want to go. To that end we’ve put together a list of must-know CFL fantasy football terminology that you might not be familiar with already. 

• Rouge: A unique caveat to the CFL scoring system that is nearly identical to that used by the NFL. A rouge is a one-point score that a team can earn in the CFL by punting the ball through the opponent’s end zone or when a ball is not returned out of the receiving team’s own end zone.
  
  
• Slotback: Similar to their NFL counterparts, slotbacks are the receivers who line up closest to the quarterback. In the CFL, they are allowed unlimited motion leading up to the snap of the ball, and are generally quick possession receivers who catch a lot of passes but not a lot of touchdowns.
  
  
• Waggle: Shorthand for the type of movement slotbacks do as they run up to the line of scrimmage right before the ball is snapped.
  
  
• Halfback: While a halfback in NFL terminology is another way to say “running back,” halfback in CFL terms refers to the inside defensive back that is generally the one to cover the slotback as well as beef up the run defense as well.
  
  
• No Yards Penalty: In the CFL there is a unique rule wherein players coming down on the punt team must give the punt returner a five yard bubble when he fields the punt before going in to make a tackle. If players don’t give the returner that five-yard cushion in all directions they will be penalized.
  
  
• Fantasy Salary Cap/Fantasy Player Salary: In most CFL fantasy formats, you can create a new team every week from the entire pool of CFL players. Each player is assigned a salary based on their potential to score fantasy points, and you as the manager need to put together a team based on staying under the CFL fantasy salary cap, which is usually set at $40,000.
  
  
• AutoPlay: This is a feature on CFL.ca’s CFL fantasy games which players can turn on if they choose to keep rolling with the same seven-player lineup week in and week out. AutoPlay will automatically choose that same team for you every week without you having to go in and do it manually.
  
  
• CFL Fantasy Leaderboard: This is a feature offered so that you can see how your team is stacking up against other CFL fantasy players. You can look at either the season long rankings or the weekly rankings to see how your decision-making is improving with each passing week. You can also check your rankings in different leagues you may have entered as well.
  
  
• Live Scoreboard: This feature allows players to follow the progress of the players on their team in real time as CFL games are going on. This also allows you to check out how some other teams are doing at that point in the game week.  

How to Sign Up For CFL Fantasy?

To get yourself started with CFL fantasy football you need to sign up for an account at either CFL.ca or TSN’s CFL fantasy games. After you’ve created an account with one of them, you’re free to then join any public league you’d like, as well as create your own league if you fancy yourself a commissioner who can run a league with some buddies.

The CFL is made up of nine teams which are split into two divisions, with five teams playing in the West Division and four teams playing in the East Division. The Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Ti-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, and Ottawa RedBlacks make up the East, and the B.C. Lions, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, and Edmonton Elks make up the West.

The teams play 18 games in the regular season, at the end of which six teams make it to the postseason. The second and third place teams in each division face off in the division semifinals, with the winner advancing to the division finals to take on the top team in their division. The winners of the division finals advance to the CFL final, known as the Grey Cup.

CFL Fantasy Scoring System

The CFL fantasy football scoring system will be one of the easiest things for players to grasp if they’ve ever played any NFL fantasy games. For those that are new to fantasy football in general, here’s a quick breakdown of the CFL fantasy scoring system:

• Passing Touchdown: 4 points
• Passing Yards/Return Yards: 1 point per 25 yards
• Rushing/Receiving/Kick Return/Punt Return Touchdowns: 6 points
• Rushing/Receiving Yards: 1 point per 10 yards
• Receptions: 1 point per reception
• Interceptions: -2 points
• Fumbles Lost: -2 points
• Defensive Sack: 1 point
• Defensive Interception: 2 points
• Defensive Fumble Recovery: 2 points
• Defensive Safety: 2 points
• Defensive Points Allowed 0: 10 points
• Defensive Points Allowed 1-6: 7 points
• Defensive Points Allowed 7-13: 4 points
• Defensive Points Allowed 14-20: 1 point
• Defensive Points Allowed 21-27: 0 points
• Defensive Points Allowed 28-34: -1 points
• Defensive Points Allowed 35+: -4 points

While the scoring system is generally the same for CFL fantasy and NFL fantasy games, there are some crucial differences that are worth noting. The roster size is much smaller for CFL fantasy football, with just seven spots available for 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 Flex (WR/RB), and 1 team defense. Meanwhile, the NFL also has slots for a tight end, kicker, and usually four to six bench spots.

While an NFL fantasy season is shaped largely by how you do in the draft, there is no CFL fantasy draft, as you can pick from the entire pool of eligible CFL players every week. In NFL fantasy you can only change the team you’ve drafted by trading and working the waiver wire, neither of which are options in the CFL format.

In practice, CFL fantasy is a lot more similar to Fantasy Premier League or Daily Fantasy Sports, where you have to look for diamonds in the rough each week to maximize your value while staying under the fantasy salary cap. Better players have higher salaries, so looking for value in players you know are good but that have lower fantasy salaries is a good way to find success.

The ability to change your team entirely on a weekly basis gives CFL fantasy players a lot more flexibility and doesn’t force them to hitch their horse to a wagon for an entire campaign. While most NFL fantasy leagues compete with a head to head format, CFL fantasy providers generally have you compete against everyone else in your league every week.

To ensure we’ve covered all of our bases vis a vis CFL fantasy football, we’ve put together a short list of some of the more common questions you might have about the CFL and playing CFL fantasy sports.

We hope that these guidelines have provided you with all of the info you feel that you need to get into CFL fantasy football, have some fun, and win as well! We’ve discussed how to play CFL fantasy games, the rules of the game, the absence of a CFL fantasy draft, important information about the actual CFL, and what the leaderboard and live scoreboard can provide for you.

The CFL is a criminally underrated sports league in North America, and CFL fantasy sports help to increase the league’s popularity. It’s a burgeoning sector of the fantasy sports industry, so why not get in on the ground floor?