Chad Kelly reset the quarterback market in the Canadian Football League this week after becoming the first million-dollar player in the league’s salary cap era.
Kelly signed a five-year contract extension with the Toronto Argonauts earlier this week that is worth $5.55 million, according to multiple reports. Financial terms were not made available by the Argonauts following the official announcement.
The former NFL draft pick could see the value of his deal go as high as $5,805,250 with bonuses, according to CTV News.
Kelly was set to be a free agent after the current CFL season.
Before the extension, BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke had been the CFL’s highest-paid player this season with a salary of $684,700.
“But coming (to the CFL) was the best decision I ever made in my life,” Kelly said during a press conference on Tuesday. “I have a beautiful family, I’ve come to love Canada on a whole other level.
“I never knew I could come to love a place so much (more) than my home and now this is my home forever, I’m just thankful to be in this situation.”
Kelly was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2017 NFL Draft, being taken last overall, and never found his footing in the league.
He eventually ended up in the CFL in 2022 and helped the Argonauts win the Grey Cup that same year.
He is the nephew of Bills’ great Jim Kelly.
Kelly set career highs for his time in the CFL this season, with 5,067 passing yards and 33 touchdowns.
