The summer’s hard-hitting favorite in Canada is just around the corner, as the new season of the Canadian Football League begins in June. However, Canadians are wasting no time in seeking information about their favorite players, perhaps for a CFL betting odds edge before the regular season.
At BetCanada.com, we used Ahrefs.com to find nationwide search volume (per month) during 2025 of every player on a CFL roster from the 2024 season. Here are the top 20 favorite players, as measured by search volume:
Rank, Position, Player | Current Team | Search Volume (Per Month) in Canada |
1. QB Nathan Rourke | BC Lions | 21.0K |
2. QB Chad Kelly | Toronto Argonauts | 8.6K |
3. RB Brady Oliveira | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 5.7K |
4. QB Cody Fajardo | Edmonton Elks | 4.9K |
5. QB Bo Levi Mitchell | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 4.4K |
6. QB Tre Ford | Edmonton Elks | 3.5K |
T7. QB Chris Streveler | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 3.1K |
T7. QB Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3.1K |
9. QB Zach Collaros | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 3.0K |
10. RB AJ Ouellette | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 2.6K |
T11. QB Jeremiah Masoli | BC Lions | 1.7K |
T11. QB Cameron Dukes | Toronto Argonauts | 1.7K |
13. QB Shea Patterson | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 1.6K |
T14. QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson | Montreal Alouettes | 1.5K |
T14. RB William Stanback | Ottawa Redblacks | 1.5K |
T14. WR Kenny Lawler | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 1.5K |
17. QB Jake Maier | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 1.2K |
T18. RB Ryquell Armstead | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 1.1K |
T18. QB Vernon Adams Jr. | Calgary Stampeders | 1.1K |
T18. WR Tyson Philpot | Montreal Alouettes | 1.1K |
The first thing that CFL fans and Canada sports betting enthusiasts might notice about our chart is that the top five players represent five different teams.
At the top, by quite a distance, is BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke. He is drawing more than 21,000 searches per month, more than double any other player. Rourke is a native of Victoria, British Columbia, and signed a three-year deal with his home team last year.
In second place, with 8,600 average searches per month, is Toronto Argonauts QB Chad Kelly. The former college standout at Mississippi threw for 2,451 yards in just nine games last season; he served a nine-game suspension for what the league called “violating the CFL's gender-based violence policy.” He hails from nearby Buffalo, New York.
The only non-quarterback in the top five is Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira (5,700 searches), a Winnipeg native who led the league with 1,353 rushing yards in 2024. QB Cody Fajardo is fourth among most searched players; he was traded to the Edmonton Elks from Montreal in the offseason. In fifth is Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB Bo Levi Mitchell, who led the CFL in passing yards last season with 5,451.
Sportsbooks already have futures odds up for the 2025 season.
The defending champion Argonauts are atop the Grey Cup futures board with Pinnacle Sportsbook Canada at +285 American odds as of March 27. The team that Toronto defeated in last year’s Grey Cup, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, are next at +390, followed by the Montreal Alouettes (+400) and the BC Lions (+675).
The last time anybody other than Winnipeg represented the West in the final was in 2018, when Calgary won the division on the way to the Grey Cup title. But the Stampeders have fallen a long way since then and are the longest shot, at +2000 odds, to win this year’s Grey Cup following last year’s league-worst 5-12-1 campaign.
Many bettors are more are more familiar with decimal odds; the Argos have 3.85 decimal odds with Pinnacle and a similar number at other Canada sportsbook apps. BetCanada.com gives you reviews of those apps and more.
USA Today photo by Dan Hamilton
Author
Jim Tomlin is an editor and writer for BetCanada.com specializing in sports, gambling, and the intersection of those industries. He has 30+ years of journalism experience and his work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
