Shedeur Sanders, Max Duggan, Diego Pavia among notable names on CFL Negotiation List

The CFL unveiled Wednesday the list of players on the Negotiation List for all nine teams. Among the notables: Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback Max Duggan and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

Both Sanders and Duggan are on the Negotiation List for the Toronto Argonauts. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers added Pavia to their Negotiation List.

Each CFL team can maintain a list of up to 45 players who are currently either unsigned or are playing in the NFL, in another professional league, or in college. The way it works is simple — if a player decides to pursue an opportunity to play in the CFL, the team which has that player on their list holds their exclusive negotiating rights. So, for example, if Sanders wants to play professional football in Canada, the Argonauts have the first chance to sign him.

Shedeur Sanders lands on CFL Negotiation List

Sanders, once thought to be a surefire first-round pick, slipped all the way to pick No. 144 in the 2025 NFL Draft. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year is currently battling for the QB1 job in Cleveland alongside Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie signal-caller Dillon Gabriel. Sanders had this to say about his draft day slide:

“My job here isn’t to prove people wrong. It’s to prove myself right and I fully have self-belief, you know, and what those people say, that’s just their opinion,” Sanders said. “So, I don’t truly care. They don’t really live in my mental space about that type of stuff. It really doesn’t do anything for me.”

The Los Angeles Chargers selected Duggan in the seventh round of the 2023 draft. Los Angeles released him ahead of the 2024 season and just a few months later, he signed with the Battlehawks of the UFL. Before embarking on his professional football career, Duggan led TCU to the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Pavia, meanwhile, is back in Nashville for one final collegiate season. Last season, his first with the Commodores, he threw for 2,293 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions, leading Vanderbilt to a 7-6 record and its first bowl game victory since 2013.