CFL to open 2027 season in May before adopting new playoff format later that year

The Canadian Football League 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 2026 campaign opens June 4 with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

"All summer long, the CFL will be front and centre, exactly where it belongs," commissioner Stewart Johnston said in a statement. "We're establishing CFL long weekends, from Victoria Day to Thanksgiving, to create can't-miss events for fans in the stadium and those watching at home."

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).

"More games, more drama, more entertainment," Johnston said. "That was the mission and that's exactly what this format will deliver.

"We're raising the stakes so every game carries real consequences — more teams in the hunt, right to the end."

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 will 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.

Then the division showdown losers will host the play-in