It would be difficult to find someone happier than Cody Fajardo these days.
The Montreal Alouettes quarterback is still on cloud nine, a few weeks after winning the Gray Cup and the title of MVP of the game.
In addition, general manager Danny Maciocia gave him an early Christmas present: a contract extension until 2025.
Fajardo’s smile was plastered from ear to ear as he met with the media via video conference on Thursday. He was wearing an Alouettes sweatshirt and a cap from his favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Angels.
And even the impending loss of Shohei Ohtani didn’t seem to get to him. “From what I see, the Angels have a 2% chance of re-signing him. So as they said in The Bell and the Idiot, there’s always a chance! But here it is the fan who speaks. »
Really, nothing could dampen the quarterback’s morale.
At least, unlike Mike Trout, Fajardo was able to lead his team to victory.
This is why Maciocia contacted him quickly after the Alouettes’ first victory in 13 years. “It was probably one of the quickest negotiations I’ve been involved in,” the 31-year-old revealed from his home in Nevada.
The talks have been fluid, mainly because Fajardo wants to finish his career in the tricolor uniform. So, before returning to the United States, he let his general manager know.
“As long as you want me, no matter how many years you want to keep me in Montreal, that will be it for the Fajardo family. We no longer want to move from one team to another,” he said.
It is already understood that when Fajardo is no longer able to be the starting quarterback of the Alouettes, it will be the end of the broadcasts for the Californian.
If Fajardo stayed in Montreal, it was to win again. He even said he left “a lot of money on the table” to allow Maciocia to maneuver under the salary cap.
The defense was a determining factor in the most recent conquest and the quarterback wants to be able to count on the same group of players at the start of the next season. However, several key players will become free agents in February.
“I made sure that if I wasn’t one of the highest paid players in the league, that the players I wanted to stay were going to stay. The day after I signed, Lemon signed,” Fajardo inadvertently quipped, even though the team had yet to publicly announce the signing of the defensive lineman. The organization therefore formalized the return of Shawn Lemon for another season in the minutes following the press conference.
Regardless, there are still big names to negotiate with, like Darnell Sankey and Tyrice Beverette. Fajardo hopes his financial sacrifice will have been put to good use. “Of course you want to be paid in proportion to what you do on the pitch, but you want to leave money for the other players on the team. I would rather win the Gray Cup than be the highest paid player and not make the playoffs. »
Moreover, this triumph will undoubtedly help Fajardo convince players to stay with the team or leave theirs to join the Alouettes.
Even if the pivot wants to devote the off-season to his family, he will have to leave space in his schedule to do some recruiting. It’s inevitable for a leader like him.
“It’s like that everywhere. LeBron James, for example, recruits as many players as possible every year. This is what you have to do when you are a veteran. If players respect you enough, they will want to play with you. »
He was the first to text Lemon when he found out about his return. He had spoken to Sankey the day before. And that was before talking with wide receiver Austin Mack for nearly 30 minutes on the phone.
“You have to make players feel that they have value and that you want to build around them,” Fajardo explained.
The one who was thinking of retirement at this time last year now has the ambition of “building a dynasty” with the Alouettes.
“It’s amazing what 365 days can do,” he said.
The one who says he’s more motivated than ever has a schedule for the next few days that boils down to three things: celebrating his new deal, convincing his teammates to stay on board and watching the price of tickets to attend Blue Jays games if Ohtani shows up in Toronto.
“I’m going to arrange to go to a few games to see him play, because it’s incredible what he does. »
