The CFL is a sport battling to retain its relevance as it is surrounded on all sides by soccer and American football leagues.
In this article we take a look at the latter, and which CFL stars the NFL has managed to lure south of the border.
It is a tried and tested route for CFL players to venture south of the border to take part in the NFL
Brett Jones – From Calgary to Minnesota
Brett Jones started life in the CFL and made betting site and news headlines by being declared the league’s best rookie in 2013 and backed that up with further league awards in the following 2014 season.
Jones, who plays at center, got his big break in the NFL when he was drafted by the New York Giants in 2015 and has since gone on to find his way into the Vikings’ starting roster. The Weyburn native will be hoping he can help convince the authorities on football betting that his Minnesota squad are worthy of a playoff berth next season.
If Jones is given a solid run in the team and is able to throw his 315lb frame about, then it could well be the case that the Vikings upset some sports odds.
For many CFL players the bright lights of the NFL prove irresistible, even if they do spend much of their time languishing in the practice squad or on injured reserve
Brandon Browner – From Denver to Calgary to Seattle
People would be wrong to think that once a player swaps the CFL for the NFL, or vice versa, that there would be no way back, because plenty of players have yoyoed between the two league setups.
One such player is cornerback Brandon Browner who started life at the Denver Broncos before moving to the CFL to join the Calgary Stampeders.
He would then return to the US to play for the Seattle Seahawks, where he built a reputation as a fierce defenseman.
Browner now enjoys a spot of American Flag Football, which is no doubt a lot easier on this retired veteran’s bones and joints.
Mike Sellers – From Edmonton to Washington to Winnipeg
Sellers was one of those rare talents who managed to shine in both the CFL and the NFL.
He started his career at the Edmonton Eskimos, where he built a fearsome persona as one half of the Thunder and Lightning partnership he had with Charles Roberts.
Unfortunately, he did not immediately set the world alight in the NFL, flattering to deceive for the Redskins and then the Browns, before eventually deciding to rebuild his career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Using Winnipeg as a launchpad, Sellers returned to the NFL with the Redskins, where he finally cemented his place at the top table of American football, even making it to the Pro Bowl in 2008.
He played all the way up till 2011 and then finally called time on a career that spanned 16 years, too much of which was spent in the sporting wilderness for a man as talented as he was.
Cameron Wake – From Vancouver to Miami
Anything Sellers could do, Cameron Wake did better, notching up no less than four Pro Bowl appearances and delivering seventy sacks in one particularly productive season for the Miami Dolphins.
Prior to his stint in the warm climes of Miami, Wake plied his trade for the BC Lions, where he showed just how good he was by racking up a record number of player awards.
After such a strong showing in the CFL, team bosses in the NFL realised what they had been missing out on. The rest, as they say, is history.
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