This is a complete list of Canadian Football League (CFL) retired numbers. A
retired number is a
jersey number that is no longer issued by a team in order to honour a player that had a significant impact on that franchise. In some cases, a player may have his number retired after his untimely death during or soon after his playing career.
Of the seven
current franchises that retire jersey numbers, there have been 52 players to have their numbers officially retired. Ironically, the two youngest franchises, the
BC Lions and
Montreal Alouettes, have retired the most numbers with 10 and 11, respectively. The oldest continuous franchise in the league, the
Toronto Argonauts, has the second fewest with four retired numbers. The
Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the fewest retired numbers, with two. The CFL considers the histories of the
Ottawa Rough Riders,
Ottawa Renegades, and
Ottawa Redblacks as one continuous franchise, so the jersey numbers represented by the Redblacks here include all three of these franchises.[1][2] The
Edmonton Elks and
Winnipeg Blue Bombers have never formally retired a jersey number and instead honour numbers and, in some instances, do not re-issue them.[3][4][5][6]
The most commonly retired number, if one includes Winnipeg's unofficial retired numbers, is the number 75, which has had its usage been discontinued by four teams. No player has had his number retired by multiple teams and, unlike
Major League Baseball (who retired
Jackie Robinson's number), the
National Basketball Association (
Bill Russell), and the
National Hockey League (
Wayne Gretzky), the CFL has never had a jersey number retired in favour of one player league-wide. Due to their short existence, none of the
American-based CFL teams ever retired jersey numbers.
This is a complete list of Canadian Football League (CFL) retired numbers. A
retired number is a
jersey number that is no longer issued by a team in order to honour a player that had a significant impact on that franchise. In some cases, a player may have his number retired after his untimely death during or soon after his playing career.
Of the seven
current franchises that retire jersey numbers, there have been 52 players to have their numbers officially retired. Ironically, the two youngest franchises, the
BC Lions and
Montreal Alouettes, have retired the most numbers with 10 and 11, respectively. The oldest continuous franchise in the league, the
Toronto Argonauts, has the second fewest with four retired numbers. The
Hamilton Tiger-Cats have the fewest retired numbers, with two. The CFL considers the histories of the
Ottawa Rough Riders,
Ottawa Renegades, and
Ottawa Redblacks as one continuous franchise, so the jersey numbers represented by the Redblacks here include all three of these franchises.[1][2] The
Edmonton Elks and
Winnipeg Blue Bombers have never formally retired a jersey number and instead honour numbers and, in some instances, do not re-issue them.[3][4][5][6]
The most commonly retired number, if one includes Winnipeg's unofficial retired numbers, is the number 75, which has had its usage been discontinued by four teams. No player has had his number retired by multiple teams and, unlike
Major League Baseball (who retired
Jackie Robinson's number), the
National Basketball Association (
Bill Russell), and the
National Hockey League (
Wayne Gretzky), the CFL has never had a jersey number retired in favour of one player league-wide. Due to their short existence, none of the
American-based CFL teams ever retired jersey numbers.