One of the most proficient receivers in Canadian Football League history is retiring as a member of the Calgary Stampeders.
On Friday, Nik Lewis signed a one-day contract with the team that he spent the lion’s share of his career with and subsequently announced his retirement as a Stamp.
“I love Calgary,” said Lewis while addressing the media at McMahon Stadium and his fans watching on Facebook Live. “I’m gonna be around here all the time. It’s such an amazing place. Amazing people. I’m just grateful to be able to be here.”
Lewis spent the first 11 seasons of his storied CFL career that began in 2004 with the Stamps before signing with the Montreal Alouettes where he played for three years.
“I came out and I did what I did and now it’s great to think back and just love the moments that I had here, the Grey Cups, the losses, the wins, enjoying the fans and everything,” said Lewis while addressing the media at McMahon Stadium.
The native of Mineral Wells, Texas elected not to release the particulars of his one-day contract but joked that is was “more than my rookie contract was”.
The two-time Grey Cup champion, and five-time all-star, is the CFL’s all-time leader in receptions (1,051) and he accumulated 13,778 receiving yards and scored 71 touchdowns during his career.
Lewis did not return to the Montreal Alouettes this season and he announced his retirement on social media in May.
The CFL’s all-time leader in receptions cherishes the memories of his time in Calgary and says the legacy of the Stampeders teams he played on laid the groundwork for the successes of the current team.
“Building what we built here, it’s a great honour to know that I was part of the group with Cope (Jeremaine Copeland) and Joffrey (Reynolds) and (Ken-Yon) Rambo and MarTay Jenkins and Hank (Henry Burris) and all of us who put in all the work and time. Even the guys on the defensive side. We put in that work to change the mentality here and to give a standard. Now that standard still lives.”
Lewis plans to pursue a career in coaching in the future but will take the rest of this year off as his mother is ailing in his home state of Texas.
Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson played and coached against Lewis and says the receiver “would lay it on the line week-in, week-out, like nobody else.”
“We love Nik,” said Dickenson. “I always thought that he was a Stamp for life, always treated him that way. The thing we’ve always said about Nik was he enjoyed football and he loves the game and loves life but he also sacrificed everything for the game.”
According to Dickenson, Lewis made an impression in the CFL from the get-go. “I was on the other side in those years, playing with Wally (Buono) in B.C., and I remember when Nik came in the league. He was a hair-thinner when he came into the league. He was jumping guys and he just had that zest.”
It was little surprise to Dickenson that the fans in Calgary took to Lewis. “He had those huge hands, never dropped a ball, and the city adopted him,” recalled Dickenson. “He became one of those guys that the fans showed up for.”
Lewis was a fan favourite during his tenure with the Stampeders and went out of his way to remove the barriers that prevented Calgarians from only knowing him for his accomplishments on the field. “As a fan, you don’t know if I’m a good guy or a bad guy, you just know I’m a good football player. I wanted to close that gap between so you know me. You know some of the good things I do. You know some of the bad things that I do.”
Lewis' efforts prompted the creation of Lewis Nation, a legion of dedicated Stampeders fans that continued to cheer for him even after his time with the team concluded
Football fans, including the members of Lewis Nation, will have an opportunity to recognize Lewis’ contributions to the game on Saturday night as he will be in attendance when the Stampeders host the Alouettes at McMahon.
