Lots of discussions take place on which is better – the NFL or CFL – and in this article we are going to compare and discuss the differences between the two leagues. We will also delve into the history of both, and we also have the current trends for those who plan on placing bets this season.
NFL and CFL – A Brief Historical Overview
NFL stands for the National Football League and is the professional US football organization. It was founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio. It began with five teams from Ohio, four from Illinois, two teams from Indiana, and two teams from New York. The NFL had competition from the American Football League (AFL) and the two merged in 1970 to create a 26-team circuit. Expansion of the league has occurred four times since. There are now 32 teams broken into the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC); Green Bay Packers are part of the NFC North. The league season comes to a close with the annual 12 team playoffs and the Super Bowl championship game. The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl XLV (2010/11) and you can catch up with all the latest news for the team on our website.
CFL stands for the Canadian Football League. It was formed back in 1956 and was originally known as the Canadian Football Council. It consisted of a football and a football rugby union, and gridiron football was played. In 1958 the name was changed to the CFL when the Western Interprovincial Football Union and the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union became the two conferences that we have today. In 1966 Grey Cup ownership was given to the CFL by the Canadian Rugby Union. There are two divisions in the CFL. The West Division and the East Division and there are 9 teams in total. The season starts in June. The current Grey Cup holders are the Calgary Stampeders from the West Division.
Betting on CFL and NFL Games
If you are planning to bet on football or any other sport, you need to get the best odds and understand the game. If you plan to bet on football in Canada or USA understanding the differences between the NFL and CFL is important and we have the 10 big differences listed below. Online sportsbooks are great and offer some of the best odds for both NFL and CFL and many offer free bets and regular promotional offers too.
The CFL season begins in June with plenty of reasons for bettors to get excited. There are only nine teams with changes happening over the winter. The Odds are in for the Grey Cup already with the Calgary Stampeders at +250 and the underdogs Montreal Alouettes at +2000. This can all change very quickly though. Be sure to keep an eye on our Packers NFL schedule for 2019 for the latest trends and predictions are they are released.
Top 10 Differences between the NFL and CFL
Fans of professional football in North America have two great choices, the NFL in the United States and CFL in Canada. Below are the main differences between the two.
- Size of the Field: The NFL field is 100 yards with the midfield line at 50 yards. The end zone is 10 yards deep, the width is just over 53 yards, and the entire field covers 120 yards. In CFL the field is 110 yards with a 55-yard midfield line. The end zones are 20 yards deep, the overall field size is 150 yards, and the width is 65.
- Player Numbers: For NFL there are 22 players. 11 are offensive and 11 defensive. The NFL also has a tight end position, and two safety positions. CFL has 24 players on a team, 12 offense and 12 defense. They don’t have a tight end position and instead has two slotbacks. It also has two halfbacks and one safety position.
- Scoring: Scores are the same for both NFL and CLF with only one exception. CFL has a single point that the kicking team get when they miss a field goal or when they punt the football and the other team catches it but doesn’t run out of their end zone. They also get a point if the ball goes out of bounds in the end zone.
- Number of Downs: Offense for the NFL has 4 downs during which they must get a first down, score a touchdown, or kick a field goal. CFL offense has 3 downs to do the same thing.
- Rules for Time and Timeouts: In NFL games there are three timeouts in each half as well as a two-minute player warning. The clock automatically stops with each warning and no time out is charged. In the CFL there is only one timeout in each half but there are three minute warnings.
- Field Goal Post: The difference here is in the position of the field goal post. For the NFL it’s at the back of the end zone whereas in the CFL it’s at the front.
- Overtime: Overtime is played if the game is a tie after all four quarters have been played. There are a number of differences. In the NFL, a coin toss is used and the team that wins gets to choose which team has possession of the ball. It’s sudden death and the first team to score wins. If fifteen minutes passes without no score, the game ends and a tie is announced. In CLF there’s a coin toss as well for possession but no kickoff. The ball is placed on the 35 yard line and the team tries to score. If the other side scores the game ends. Both teams get possession twice and if there is no score after this the game is deemed a tie.
- Season and Game Schedule: The NFL season is September through to December and sometimes the first week in January. There are 16 games and then the Playoffs. It culminates with the Super Bowl on the first Sunday of February. Games take place on Sundays with a weekly Monday game too. The CFL season is from July through to November with 18 games. Playoffs take place then and the Grey Cup is the Last Sunday of November. Most games are held on the weekend.
- Player Salary: The NFL offers plenty of money and the highest players can take home over $15 million per season. The highest paid players in the CFL might only make a little over $200,000 if they’re lucky, with the average salary in 2018 being approximately $96,000. This is a big difference and one of the reasons some CFL players quit and try to get a place on an NFL team.