Toronto Argonauts get first right to negotiate a CFL contract with Shedeur Sanders

If Shedeur Sanders ever decides to play in the Canadian Football League, the Toronto Argonauts have the first rights to negotiate a contract with him.

The Argonauts added Sanders to their negotiation list on Monday, according to TSN. That makes the Argonauts the team with the right to sign Sanders first if he becomes interested in playing in the CFL.

Such a signing wouldn't happen this year, as the CFL season starts in June and Sanders' focus over the coming months will be making the Browns' roster. It's possible that Sanders won't even make the Browns, given that they have three other quarterbacks in Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel, but even in that scenario he'd likely be on a practice squad and focused on making an active roster.

The highest-paid CFL players make about $600,000 a year, which is less than the NFL league minimum. The CFL salary cap is about $6 million, so it's not feasible for CFL teams to make competitive offers for NFL-caliber players. So from a financial standpoint, the CFL would only make sense for Sanders if he can't make an NFL team.

But if he does end up in the CFL, Sanders wouldn't be the first highly touted Browns quarterback to do so. In 2014 the Browns drafted Johnny Manziel in the first round, and by 2018 Manziel was in the CFL. Sanders hopes not to follow Manziel's path.