Cody Fajardo might’ve been paying attention to Connor McDavid when he signed his new contract with the Edmonton Elks.
Operating as his own agent, Cody Fajardo inked a one-year deal with the Elks earlier this month to try and help guide the team back to the playoffs in 2026.
Now, we know some details of that deal.
His new deal will be worth $395,500 in hard money, according to 3DownNation’s Justin Dunk. It comes with a $190,000 signing bonus, a $135,080 base salary, along with $35,000 in marketing money, a $20,000 travel allowance and $15,420 in housing.
Other elements of the deal include $52,000 in incentives which can bring his maximum earnings to $4747,500 this year, according to Dunk, which break down as follows:
- $1,111.11 for every game he’s on the active roster ($20,000 in total).
- $10,000 for reaching 4,300 all-purpose yards.
- $10,000 for reaching 25 touchdowns.
- $7,000 for finishing top-four in passing yards.
- $5,000 if he is named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.
The deal itself, Dunk noted, is still a significant raise from the $180,000 in hard money as a backup last year, but it’s one that ranks behind several other starting quarterbacks, including B.C.’s Nathan Rourke, Toronto’s Chad Kelly, Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros, Calgary’s Vernon Adams Jr., Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell, Ottawa’s Dru Brown and Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris.
“I signed a really team friendly deal,” Fajardo told ElksNation’s Elk Central podcast last week. “I did my own deal. I wanted the experience of doing my own deal, and that was something that always intrigued me.
“I want to be a general manager down the line someday. (Elks GM) Ed (Hervey) was professional through the whole time, treated me like an agent… I said, ‘Look, we’re not going to make the playoffs in 2026 by me breaking the bank.’
“If I’m one of the lower end guys paid in the league, that, that’s fine by me as long as I’m able to pay my bills at home and feel comfortable. Right? And then have a team around me.”
Fajardo finished 2025 completing 73.2 percent of his passes, the second-best mark in the league, 3,408 yards and 14 touchdowns, while posting a 104.6 QB rating, the third-best mark of his CFL career. He added 319 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground after taking over as the team’s starting quarterback in Week 8.
