Watch the Grey Cup 2026 live and for free on DAZN.<\/a><\/p>\n1. Warren Moon \u2013 Houston Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos<\/p>\n
Warren Moon became one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks, but his remarkable professional career began in Canada.<\/p>\n
After leaving the University of Washington, Moon joined the Edmonton Eskimos, now known as the Edmonton Elks, in 1978.<\/p>\n
He spent six seasons with the franchise, helping Edmonton win five consecutive Grey Cups between 1978 and 1982 before being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 1983.<\/p>\n
Moon eventually joined the Houston Oilers in 1984 and went on to enjoy a 17-season NFL career, throwing for 49,325 yards and 291 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.<\/p>\n
With Edmonton returning to the Grey Cup this weekend, Moon’s extraordinary achievements are a reminder of the franchise’s historic success in Canadian football.<\/p>\n
2. Doug Flutie \u2013 Buffalo Bills and Calgary Stampeders<\/p>\n
Doug Flutie is remembered by many NFL fans for his time with the Buffalo Bills, but some of his greatest achievements came in the CFL.<\/p>\n
After beginning his NFL career with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots, Flutie moved to Canada in 1990, joining the BC Lions.<\/p>\n
He subsequently represented the Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts, winning three Grey Cups and an extraordinary six CFL Most Outstanding Player awards.<\/p>\n
Flutie’s creativity and passing ability helped make him one of the most successful quarterbacks in CFL history.<\/p>\n
He returned to the NFL with Buffalo in 1998, later playing for the San Diego Chargers and returning to New England.<\/p>\n
His success on both sides of the border demonstrated that Canadian football could provide a platform for quarterbacks to showcase their abilities at the highest level.<\/p>\n
3. Joe Theismann \u2013 Washington Redskins and Toronto Argonauts<\/p>\n
Before winning a Super Bowl and becoming an NFL Most Valuable Player, Joe Theismann spent the opening years of his professional career in Canada.<\/p>\n
The quarterback joined the Toronto Argonauts in 1971 and played three seasons in the CFL before moving to Washington in 1974.<\/p>\n
He went on to become one of Washington’s most celebrated players, leading the franchise to victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.<\/p>\n
Theismann was also named NFL Most Valuable Player for the 1983 season, establishing himself as one of the league’s leading quarterbacks.<\/p>\n
His journey from Toronto to Super Bowl glory remains one of the most notable examples of a player finding major success in the NFL after developing his career in Canada.<\/p>\n
4. Cameron Wake \u2013 Miami Dolphins and BC Lions<\/p>\n
Cameron Wake took a different route to NFL stardom, using the Canadian Football League to establish himself as one of North America’s most dangerous defensive players.<\/p>\n
After going undrafted out of Penn State, Wake joined the BC Lions in 2007.<\/p>\n
The defensive end immediately made an impact, recording 16 sacks during his rookie season before producing an even more impressive 23 sacks in 2008.<\/p>\n
His performances attracted NFL interest, and Wake signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2009.<\/p>\n
He went on to earn five Pro Bowl selections and became one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers.<\/p>\n
Wake’s career showed that the CFL could provide a route to NFL success for defensive players as well as quarterbacks.<\/p>\n
5. Jeff Garcia \u2013 San Francisco 49ers and Calgary Stampeders<\/p>\n
Jeff Garcia became a four-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback, but his journey to American football’s biggest stage began with the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n
Garcia joined the CFL franchise in 1994 and initially served as Doug Flutie’s backup before establishing himself as Calgary’s starting quarterback.<\/p>\n
His biggest moment came in 1998 when he led the Stampeders to Grey Cup glory and was named the championship game’s Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n
The following year, Garcia joined the San Francisco 49ers, where he developed into one of the NFL’s most productive quarterbacks.<\/p>\n
He later represented several other NFL franchises, including the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
Garcia’s rise from CFL champion to NFL star is another example of how Canadian football has helped shape some of the sport’s most successful careers.<\/p>\n
How to watch the Grey Cup 2026 live and free on DAZN<\/p>\n
The CFL’s biggest game takes place on Sunday, November 15, when the Montreal Alouettes face the Edmonton Elks in the 113th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
The championship game will be held at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, with kick-off scheduled for 11pm GMT.<\/p>\n
Edmonton will be looking to win its first Grey Cup since 2015, while Montreal hopes to claim another championship following its triumph in 2023.<\/p>\n
The Elks’ appearance also brings renewed attention to a franchise that helped launch Warren Moon’s legendary career.<\/p>\n
Fans around the world, excluding Canada, can watch the Grey Cup live and for free on DAZN.<\/p>\n
Watch Montreal Alouettes vs Edmonton Elks in the Grey Cup 2026 live and for free on DAZN.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of the NFL’s biggest stars made their names in the Canadian Football League (CFL) before becoming legends…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}