Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — In November, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie will present the Gray Cup for the final time.

Ambrosie made a surprising announcement Saturday that he will retire in 2025. The 61-year-old Winnipeg native will officially step down once his successor is found.

“I feel like I’ve jumped to the point where I’ve helped bring the league to a much better place,” Ambrosie told The Canadian Press. “I’m launching at a time when the foundations of the league are infinitely stronger than they were.

“Now I can turn it over to the next person and wish them good luck. I’ll be the biggest cheerleader in the CFL, which I feel like I have been, and I can continue that for many years to come. It was simply the right time for the league and for me to make this change.

Ambrosie, who played nine seasons (1985-93) as an offensive lineman with Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton, was named the league’s 14th commissioner on July 5, 2017, succeeding Jeffrey Orridge. His tenure of over seven years is the second longest ever behind the late Jake Gaudaur (1968-84).

The timing of Ambrosie’s decision is shocking. Last year, during his annual Gray Cup speech, Ambrosie said he had no immediate plans to step down. Conventional thinking suggested that Ambrosie would remain on the job at least until Season 26, when the league’s broadcast deals expired.

“It’s been almost seven and a half years, seven days a week, sometimes like 24 hours a day,” Ambrosie said.

By retiring in 2025, Ambrosie said he was giving his successor time to acclimate to the job and prepare for negotiations over new TV deals. Once the new broadcast deals are signed, the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players’ Association can be reopened even though it still has two years remaining.

But there have been signs of discontent. In September, Winnipeg president Wade Miller criticized Ambrosie and the CFL after Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was forced to leave the club during the 35-33 Labor Day victory over Saskatchewan , apparently due to a head injury.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 26, 2024.