CFL AMENDS 2021 DRAF T RULES

The Canadian Football League has tweaked the rules of its draft for 2021. After all choices are made in the first round, the order of selection will be reversed. That pattern will continue throughout the draft, which will occur in the spring of 2021. Because there was no 2020 season on which to base the draft order, it will instead be determined by an equally weighted random draw of the CFL's nine member clubs. Rather than eight rounds, there will be just six, acknowledging the fact that there will be a “double cohort” of Canadian players from the 2020 and 2021 drafts at training camps in the spring. The draft is open to Canadian players from U Sports, the NCAA and junior football. Because U Sports and the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to players who were denied the chance to play football in 2020, due to COVID-19 shutdowns, the CFL will allow 2021 draft eligible players to defer their draft year to 2022. CFL general managers proposed the changes and they were approved by club presidents serving on the management council.