Jurriën timber
It was a season of highs for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2025. Not only did the CFL club achieve the ultimate high of winning the Grey Cup, but the Green and White saw high revenues and high expenses. Overall, as the club presented during its annual general meeting on Tuesday night in Regina, the expenses were ultimately higher than the revenues as the Roughriders recognized a net loss of $157,005 for the year. “First and foremost, the goal of the organization is to win championships and entertain our fans,” said Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds.
“Those two things are interrelated, so when you have a successful year like we did on the field, you’re going to see revenue growth, which is what we saw, but when you have the ultimate success of winning the Grey Cup, you’re also going to have some expenditure growth as well.”
Overall, the Roughriders had revenues of $44.7 million compared to expenses of $45 million which resulted in the net loss. Both of those numbers were higher than the 2024 season when the Roughriders had $40 million in revenue and $38.7 million in expenses as the club recognized a $2.1 million profit.
“Compared to the prior year, the club experienced increased revenues across all business lines, with the exception of CFL distributions and interest and investment income,” said Roughriders chief financial officer Kent Paul. While football operations ($15.3 million or 34 per cent) make up the largest portion of the club’s expenses, playing in — and ultimately winning — the Grey Cup cost nearly $2 million, or four per cent of total revenue, which is a cost that’s totally worth it according to Reynolds. “One hundred per cent,” he said. “Our goal is to win championships and entertain our fans and have a team that our fans are proud of and ultimately, that’s the goal.”
While the team paid for travel and accommodation for staff in Winnipeg for the Grey Cup, the various celebrations that come with winning, including touring the Grey Cup around the province, are expenses the team doesn’t typically incur every year.
There were also several dozen Grey Cup rings to hand out, with the total cost not revealed by Reynolds. “Enough,” he quipped.
“We just want to make sure that we’re providing our players and coaches and team with something that’s appropriate for what they accomplished.”
Gate receipts make up the largest revenue source for the Roughriders at $14.5 million, which is slightly higher than last year’s total. And while the club generated $1.8 million in revenue from hosting the West final, another factor that ate into Saskatchewan’s bottom line was the postponed game in July due to wildfire smoke in Regina, as the team delayed the game by one day, resulting in extra game-day costs and vouchers given to fans. “The result was almost an entirely second set of game day costs with very little incremental revenue,” said Paul. “Ticket office costs increased as a result of the value of the coupons provided with the postponed game, increased resources, and incremental costs associated with increased sales.”
After the Roughriders won the Grey Cup, the club noticed a big boost in merchandise sales as revenue increased by $2.6 million to $9.1 million, which is the highest total in a decade. In 2025, the Roughriders also paid “normal” rent for their use of Mosaic Stadium to the City of Regina, in the form of $1.7 million, which was up from $311,000 in 2024. “Last year was a one-time exception, where we worked with the city regarding what the rent amounts were owing back during the pandemic and we finalized that agreement last year and so it ended up having a smaller rent amount last year just as a one-time adjustment, whereas now this year I’d say we’re back to our normal rent amount that we pay every year,” said Paul.
Overall, Reynolds the Roughriders are in a strong financial position as the club’s stabilization fund has increased by $900,000 to $11.3 million, which is up 64 per cent over the past four years coming out of the pandemic. tshire@postmedia.com
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Read More