The Edmonton Elks have a decision to make regarding Canadian guard Tre Ford.
General manager Ed Hervey was full of praise. Ford entered the 2025 season as the Green and Gold's starting QB and gave him a contract to match.. However, the 27-year-old found himself on the bench after a 1-4 start as Cody Fajardo took over the most important position of the game. Niagara Falls, Ontario. The native did not take a single photo after the 6th week.
Fajardo finished the campaign with a 6–7 win-loss record, impressing head coach Mark Kilam and Hervey enough to extended the contract for the 2026 season. As a result, Edmonton's football operations department had to issue a verdict against Ford, who has a $110,000 active roster bonus due on February 1st. The Elks have three options: trade him, release him or restructure his contract.
Hervey can make a phone call to see if this makes sense ultra-athletic QB around the league with three downs. He could decide to fire Ford if no valid offers are presented. If Edmonton decides he is the best backup option for Fajardo, changing his compensation would make the most sense.
Including a $110,000 active roster bonus, Ford is currently projected to make $327,000 in hard money for the 2026 season. There's an additional $70,000 in playing time incentives, plus $6,000 in star and award bonuses, and $14,500 in stats, giving him a maximum possible salary of $417,500.
Based on Fajardo's new contract, Edmonton likely won't be able to keep Ford at that level given the CFL salary cap restrictions.
Currently, every team has a starting QB for the 2026 season. This means that wherever Ford plays, he will likely have to take a pay cut and drop below $200,000 in hard money, as happened with Fajardo when he arrived last season. The 2023 Gray Cup MVP agreed to take a pay cut of more than $200,000. after Edmonton acquired him in a trade from Montreal.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson was the highest paid reserve player in the league. in a flat cash compensation of $185,000 in 2025, while Fajardo trailed behind at $180,000. That's the approximate level Ford will realistically expect to make in terms of his earnings in 2026, plus playing time, stats, All-Star appearances and incentives. It's worth noting that Fajardo earned an additional $46,000 from these bonuses last season.
After being selected in the first round, eighth overall, in the 2022 CFL Draft, Ford completed 67 percent of his passes for 4,651 yards with 29 touchdowns against 19 interceptions in his 60 CFL games. He rushed 124 times for 152 yards (9.1 per carry) and scored four majors on the ground. The 6-foot, 190-pound QB has a 10-13 win-loss record in 23 career CFL starts.
The 2021 Hec Crighton Trophy winner has the tools to succeed as a professional defender, but how much depends largely on him.
In 2025, the Moose finished fifth in the West Division standings with a 7–11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Fajardo started the team's final 13 games of the regular season, throwing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Ford started the top five with a 1-4 record and threw for 984 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Edmonton ranked ninth in net offense, ninth in net defense and fifth with a plus-four turnover margin. The team's leading rusher was Justin Rankin with 1,013 yards, the leading receiver was Kion Julien-Grant with 820 yards, and the leading tackler was Joel Dublanco with 80 tackles. Edmonton ranked seventh in attendance with an average attendance of 19,050, down 7.1 per cent from the previous year.
