In a spectacular sweep at the 2025 CFL Awards held at Club Regent Casino in Winnipeg, B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke cemented his place in Canadian football history by capturing both the league's Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian honours.
A Historic Achievement
The Victoria native received the George Reed Trophy as the CFL's outstanding player after earning 40 of 53 possible votes from the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL head coaches. Rourke's exceptional season saw him establish career highs with 5,290 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes, while also leading all quarterbacks with 564 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
Rourke joins an exclusive group of only four other players who have accomplished the dual award feat: Brady Oliveira, Jon Cornish, Russ Jackson, and Tony Gabriel. "Those names are obviously legendary in the CFL and it's so much cooler that they're Canadian as well," Rourke remarked during the ceremony. "Just to be able to kind of continue the legacy they started and continue on the great traditions of this league is an honour and privilege."
West Division Dominance
The West Division claimed most of the evening's honours, with Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Trey Vaval becoming just the third player in CFL history to win both top rookie and special-teams player awards in the same season. The 25-year-old cornerback scored a league-high four return touchdowns and amassed 2,266 total return yards.
B.C. Lions defensive end Mathieu Betts made history of his own, becoming the first Canadian player to win the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award twice after previously claiming the honour in 2023. The Montreal native led the CFL with 15 sacks this season.
Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick earned his first Most Outstanding Lineman award at age 35, completing his 11th CFL season by anchoring a line that helped the Riders finish atop the West Division with a CFL-best 12-6 record.
Bittersweet Celebration
Despite the individual accolades, Rourke acknowledged that the awards couldn't completely erase the disappointment of B.C.'s season ending with a 24-21 loss to Saskatchewan in the Western Final after the Lions had won their final six regular-season games to finish 11-7.
"No, you want to play in that game (the Grey Cup)," Rourke stated. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything but I'd trade these for it in a heartbeat. You receive these with grace knowing it's a reflection of not just your performance but the rest of your team and we have a great one."
The quarterback's record-setting season included establishing a new single-season passing record for a Canadian quarterback while his 10 rushing touchdowns were the most ever by a national signal-caller.
Other award winners included Saskatchewan's Logan Ferland (Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy) and B.C.'s Andrew Peirson (Tom Pate Memorial Award for sportsmanship and community contribution).
