After finishing the 2025 season with the Edmonton Elks, Cody Fajardo pegged his chances of retiring at 75 percent, compared to 25 percent returning.
The 33-year-old was offered a job as an offensive analyst at his alma mater, the University of Nevada, which would provide a smooth transition from professional football. This opportunity would also give him the opportunity to spend more time at home with his family, as he called it one of his “dream jobs.”
“It was more of a proof-of-concept deal, but These coaches are paid pretty good money in college football now. It was nothing like starting money for a CFL quarterback, but it was something that definitely intrigued me,” Fajardo said.
The last couple of weeks of the CFL schedule have been tough for his Fajardo wife, Laura, as she was in Reno, Nevada, working as a physical therapist and caring for the couple's two sons, 3-year-old Luca and 1-year-old Cian. After a day of cleaning out lockers, the proud father wondered what he was doing missing out on the “golden years” of his children's lives and failing to make the CFL playoffs. These thoughts led Fajardo to take a two-week vacation at the end of November.
“WWe took some time off and spent some time with family. We I wanted to see what life would look like with and without football. YesYou only have so many years to play football and I can coach 50 years until I'm 60, 70, 80, but that's the only way to play long. We talked about this. One more year for my kids to see me play. football now that they are a little older, have a little more empathy for things and can remember certain things,” Fajardo said.
“You're watching your two exes in Gray Bowl with Sask and Montreal that will light a fire under you. Saskatchewan, a team that I think could We beat twice this year, but we beat once at home. You beat the Gray Cup winner Team, this shows that you are not as far away as you think, even though we missed the playoffs. It gave me hope for the team.”
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound key player was contemplating retirement after the 2022 season with the Roughriders. He was still young at the time and wanted to prove he could become a CFL championship defenseman.
Fajardo achieved his goal in 2023 with the Alouettes, giving an impassioned speech before the 110th Gray Cup in Hamilton. The result was winning touchdown pass to Canadian wide receiver Tyson Philpot Fajardo received the MVP award.
One of the deciding factors in Fajardo's return was the goal of becoming QB and leading Edmonton back to the postseason for the first time since 2019. He signed what he called a “team” contract with the Elks through 2026 and wants to play meaningful football in late October and November.
“What I would have made any money I missed out on on my contract and it would have been worth it by making the playoffs. Tthat's the goal and compete for the Gray Cup. This was our vision when we spoke and we negotiated,” Fajardo said.
The Brea, Calif. native negotiated his own contract with Edmonton general manager Ed Hervey, as he did last year while working out restructured financial details after being acquired via trade from Montreal. He used his old agreement from 2023 season with the Alouettes And Roughriders compensation for Trevor Harris beginning in 2025 like its main analogues. Those contracts stayed with Fajardo, even though he knows the salary cap increased because Gray Cups could be won.
“I want the experience of walking into a meeting room with a general manager. My goal when I'm done playing football, I'd like to be a general manager one day, be it for on a college team, or in the CFL, or somehow become a general manager. The only way to get this experience can be gained by doing it yourself. For me it was, if I feel valued in this contract, why not say yes,” Fajardo said.
“When you see the numbers come out, that will be the lower end of the starting number. defenders. But like I said, a playoff team will be much more important than any dollar For me personally, this is an indicator, because this is exactly at this stage of my career. If I were 26 years old I'll tell you straight: it's all about money. I have established myself in my life. I know for sure what are our monthly expenses, I understood what we needed to feel comfortable and we made this deal done, so I wasn't trying to be greedy.
Fajardo admitted that contract negotiations with Hervey as a player were “tough”, but he was also frustrated and stressed at times. He believes both parties remained professional and he respected the way Hervey ran his business. There were no face-to-face talks, but they did have a three-hour road meeting at the team's facility before No. 7 returned to his offseason home in Reno.
“I think the team compromised, I compromised,And you usually get a good deal when no one is excited about the deal. This means that both sides usually did good things. I felt like I left some money on the table without an agent,” Fajardo said.
“WWe came up with numbers that I liked. WITHsometimes when you have an agent, the agent wants to do more because he gets more money in their pocket. Wwhen you sign a defenseman's starting salary, it’s a little better than what I had last year as a backup.”
Hervey and Fajardo did discuss a possible two-year deal, but the franchise QB felt it “made sense” to focus on a one-year deal. This does not take 2027 off the table, as it could be negotiated at any time during the year or after the season.
The Edmonton Elks finished fifth in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 7–11 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Cody Fajardo started the team's final 13 regular-season games and went 6-7, throwing for 3,408 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Tre Ford started the top five with a 1-4 record and threw for 984 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Moose ranked ninth in net offense, ninth in net defense and fifth with a plus-four turnover margin. The club'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.
