Lauther wants to be in Saskatchewan for the long haul

Brett Lauther hopes to be kicking around Saskatchewan for some time.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ veteran kicker said during a conference call Monday he’d like to remain with the CFL team for another decade or more. The Roughriders announced Saturday they had signed the 31-year-old product of Truro, N.S., to a two-year contract extension.

The time he spent in 2015 with kicker Paul McCallum — who was 45 at the time — convinced Lauther that anything was possible.

“Maybe someday, 10 (or) 15 years from now, we’re still doing this and I’m laughing — just some old guy trying to kick a ball to make a living,” Lauther said with a chuckle during Monday’s call.

Lauther’s extension was announced a little more than a week before CFL free agency is set to begin Feb. 8. He admitted loyalty played a big part in his decision to re-sign with Saskatchewan rather than take his chances on the market.

“When you’re 22 or 21 years old and you get drafted to a team, you’re a little naive and think you’re going to get to stay there forever and yada yada,” said Lauther, who was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2013 CFL draft. “I would have. I wanted coming out (of university) just to be a Ticat and a lot of those guys are still over there from those years when I was there and doing big things.

“Now to have a team finally want you and be given a shot, for myself, I want to potentially — and hopefully it works out — stay with the same team and be in that same uniform and build on the field but not only there, in the community and give back.”

Lauther’s nomadic career is well-documented — stops with the Tiger-Cats, Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts, Roughriders again and Edmonton before landing a full-time gig with Saskatchewan in 2018 — so getting a two-year extension when many players are signing for just one season was important to him.

“It’s well-known that there’s no guarantees up here, but (it’s tough) having to negotiate every year and go over where you’re going to be living and just at the age I’m at,” said Lauther, one of the Roughriders’ reps with the CFL Players’ Association. “Like I told my agent out of the gate, I wanted to try to get multi-years if possible.

“It doesn’t always make sense (to sign for multiple years), especially being on the (players’ association) side of things with the CBA and the negotiations, but I feel like with what I know behind the scenes and what’s going on this time around, I definitely wanted a two- or three-year deal and to get something like this done.

“To be staying at what I kind of consider home away from home for me, it’s definitely a big deal.”

Lauther was named the Roughriders’ most outstanding special-teams player last season after hitting on 40 of 47 field-goal attempts during the regular season, including three kicks of more than 50 yards. He also was 18-for-19 on convert tries.

In his three seasons with Saskatchewan, Lauther is 126-for-148 on field-goal tries, with a long of 57 yards. He’s also 88-for-96 on convert attempts.

“I know things can change quickly so I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I still feel super-young and maybe those years off helped,” he said. “I was grinding away and working some pretty tough jobs too, so that might have taken some years off.

“But no, I definitely don’t feel like the end is near or I couldn’t play until I’m in my 40s or later. (I could) try to chase what some of those NFL quarterbacks can do and how long they’ve been playing.”

Lauther considered going to the NFL in 2020 when the CFL didn’t have a season due to COVID-19, but admitted that wasn’t on his mind as much this off-season.

He also knew there would have been interest from CFL teams if he hit the free-agent market, but said he wanted to be back in Saskatchewan — and he wanted a deal that would be fair to both him and the Roughriders.

He noted if his contract demands allow the team to re-sign players who can help the Roughriders win a Grey Cup at home in 2022, he’d be happy to have helped.

Lauther has become more active in the community, working with the Red Cross and KidSport to get what he called “the best feeling in the world” from helping kids in Saskatchewan.

He said he has people in Regina whom he considers family, so returning to the Roughriders was a natural.

“I’m super-fortunate and forever thankful to be in a position I’m in,” Lauther said. “I’ll never take a day for granted that I get to wear green.”