Brett Lauther is the latest member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders to opt out of his CFL contract.
Lauther spoke with Michael Ball on 620 CKRM’s the Sportscage Monday night. He says this wasn’t a decision he made overnight.
“I weighed all of the pro’s and con’s, and there really wasn’t too many con’s in this situation,” Lauther said. “After speaking to family and friends, coach (Craig Dickenson), (Riders General manager Jeremy O’Day), my agent, and just a number of other guys around the league that I’m close with, it just seemed like the best decision.”
Lauther says playing football in the NFL is a risk he’s willing to take.
“Look at my whole career; it’s been a gamble, and I think a lot of people would have laughed in 2015, ’16, and ’17 if I said I was going to play in the CFL again,” Lauther said. “I’ve been taking risks my whole life, and I like to live that way. Now I have a chance to take another one.”
This comes as the 2020 CFL season was officially cancelled last week. Lauther was disappointed with this announcement, saying he basically had his bags packed and ready for the season.
Lauther, who was the Riders rep for the CFL Players’ Association, says in his opinion, the league has not worked well with CFLPA in the last few years.
“It’s easy to say now that it’s going to be a partnership, and put ‘this and that’ in the media, and anyone that’s been around the league has seen this before,” Lauther said. “I’m at the point where it’s like ‘fool me once, fool me twice,’ until we actually see it, and it starts to happen, and that’s when I’ll believe it.
“Until then, I don’t believe anything that comes out of that side’s mouth.”
Linebacker Deon Lacey also opted out of his CFL contract. It is believed more players across the league are considering this option with no season being played this year.
