Canadian running back Brady Oliveira is arguably the top free agent in the CFL, and while he would love to return to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, it's clear he wants to maximize the value of his next contract while chasing another championship ring.
“I think everyone knows the last few years here have been amazing. Playing for my hometown has been incredible. I have nothing but good things to say about my time here and would I want to come back? Absolutely, but I think I have an obligation to sit down with my agent and talk to my family and kind of see what scenario and situation is best for me.” Oliveira told reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday..
“I know what I can bring. I know I'm the caliber of player that can help a team win a championship, so I want to put myself in the best situation to win a championship. That's why I play this game – I don't play for awards or anything like that. I play to win a Gray Cup, so I'm going to put myself in the best situation.”
Oliveira may not play for personal awards, but he has won a lot of them. He is one of fewer than two dozen players to ever win multiple Most Outstanding Canadian Player awards, and only four Canadians ever named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player, although Nathan Rourke will likely be added to both lists later this month.
The strong ball handler is already the eighth-best Canadian rusher in the CFL and needs just 1,365 more yards to move into third place, behind only Andrew Harris (10,380) and Normie Kwong (9,022), according to statistician Jeff Krever. Oliveira also needs just one more 1,000-yard season to tie Harris' Canadian record of five.
“He's probably the best defensive player in the league,” head coach Mike O'Shea said Monday. “We like his style, we like the way he plays, hometown guy, but that doesn't even matter. He's just very, very good, so (re-signing Oliveira) will obviously be a priority.”
The 28-year-old won't repeat as CFL Most Outstanding Player this year, but that doesn't mean he's had a bad season. He rushed for 1,163 yards and three touchdowns and led the league with 5.8 yards per carry (minimum 50 attempts) and caught 61 passes for 546 yards, setting a new career high for a receiver.
However, Oliveira put in a quiet performance in the Eastern semi-final, managing to gain just 39 yards from scrimmage in 10 touches. His opportunities were limited given how poorly the team started, trailing 25–3 at halftime, although he made a key error in the fourth quarter with his team trailing 32–30. Oliveira lost a fumble deep in Winnipeg territory that the Alouettes recovered and turned into a touchdown four plays later.
“I understand mistakes are going to happen throughout the season – obviously you want to limit those mistakes in professional football and it (the fumble) was costly at a costly time in the game,” Oliveira said. “It was a great play by that defensive lineman and I’ll definitely be thinking about it for a while.”
Oliveira declined to comment on the team's offensive scheme this year. which was recently criticized by Zach Collaros. The veteran quarterback noted that the offense repeated plays during training camp that were never played during the regular season. He also suggested that the attackers had not mastered any concepts that they could rely on at key moments. O'Shea praised offensive coordinator Jason Hogan's work ethic: although he also wishes he had given the offense more support.
The five-foot-ten, 229-pound ball carrier has a special relationship with Hogan, given that he served as the team's running backs coach for three seasons before becoming Winnipeg's offensive coordinator. Oliveira has always spoken highly of Hogan, whom he thanked no less than three times during his acceptance speech last year in Vancouver.
The two men had a long meeting during trash bag day on Sunday, which Oliveira said was productive.
“(This year) I felt different. I didn't get to spend as much time (with Hogan) as I wanted. The guy had a lot going on, and we all know he's new to the team and he's going to have growing pains throughout the season. Obviously now he had to manage a lot more than just me and the running backs – now from a very small room to a very large room with the entire offense,” Oliveira said.
“We know this offense didn't live up to our standards for the explosive offense that wins a lot of football games. We all know we didn't do that, so we had that conversation as well. The conversation I had with [Hogan] was good. There were some difficult moments, but also many great moments. I still have a lot of respect and love for him and that will never change.”
When asked point blank whether it was a mistake for Hogan to become the team's offensive coordinator in 2025, Oliveira spoke in support of his coach.
“I don’t think it was a mistake,” he said. “I think he deserves the opportunity to showcase his abilities. The guy works really hard, he's shown that over the last few seasons, so I think that's why he was awarded this opportunity to be an offensive coordinator.”
Product of the University of North Dakota turned down massive contract offers from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and BC Lions. the last time he was a free agent. He made $240,000 in Winnipeg this year. – nearly $100,000 more than any other running back – but it's safe to say he'll get a raise especially given the recent salary cap hike in the CFL.
“I still have a lot more tread on my tires. I have a lot more power in me. I'm looking forward to attacking another offseason because I think I'm attacking this offseason better than anyone. I think I'll have a whole new fire – I know I can show a lot more. We'll see what's best for my future, but I like it here. I really do, it's been amazing, but you don't know how many years you'll play this game and when I look at my last two seasons this contract and I think they got everything out of me,” Oliveira said.
“I think everyone knows there were big fans when I made the deal a few years ago. This is where I wanted to be, but knowing that I don't know how many more years I have left to play this game – I still know I have time – but we'll see, so I think I have a responsibility to capitalize on this because I deserve it, I tried my best to put myself in that position and get what I deserve.”
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished fourth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 10–8 record, qualifying for the playoffs as a crossover team before losing in the East semi-finals to the Montreal Alouettes. Zach Collaros threw for 3,048 yards, 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 13 regular-season games while going 6-7 as a starter.
The Blue Bombers ranked fifth in net offense, third in net defense and eighth with a minus-eleven turnover margin. The club's leading rusher was Brady Oliveira with 1,163 yards, the leading receiver was Nick Demski with 1,001 yards, and the leading tackler was Tony Jones with 104 tackles. Winnipeg ranked first in attendance with an average attendance of 32,343, up 3.7 per cent from the previous year.
