Rourke made more money in NFL than anyone in CFL without taking a snap
Former BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke made more money playing in the NFL this season than anyone playing in the CFL. Despite not playing a single live regular season snap, Rourke made more than US$500,000 for his efforts this year, per Spotrac.
Across the 2023 NFL season, Rourke was paid US$125,001 from the New England Patriots and US$394,667 from the Jacksonville Jaguars. That combines for a total of US$519,668.
The highest-paid CFL player at the start of the 2023 season was Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros. He made C$600,000, or roughly US$445,000, last season.
Chad Kelly then signed a three-year, C$1.865 million extension with the Toronto Argonauts to become the highest-paid CFL player. That means that Kelly will make about US$465,000 per season at the current exchange rate.
While he didn’t get into any NFL regular-season games, Rourke did spend a decent amount of time on the active roster for the Jaguars and Patriots, helping him earn a larger salary. He was claimed by the Patriots in mid-December off waivers and was the team’s primary backup during a Week 18 loss to the New York Jets.
While Rourke did make more than any NFL player, this does not mean that he would not have made a similar amount if he stayed with the Lions. The organization was reportedly prepared to offer the quarterback a large salary if he wanted to stay in Canada.
“He’d be making more in the CFL than he’s gonna make in the NFL this year, so it wasn’t about money,” said Lions head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell to Canadian football outlet 3DownNation before the season began. “It was just about chasing his dream at the end of the day.”
The CFL salary cap for the 2023 season was C$5.45 million, or far less than most NFL quarterbacks make. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has a contract that pays him an average of US$55 million per season over five years.