Ironman CFL kicker René Paredes bids farewell to CFL, Calgary Stampeders

CALGARY — René Paredes took deep breaths to get through it.

One of the most clutch kickers in CFL history bid farewell to his 15-year career with the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday.

The 41-year-old, who was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in the suburbs of Montreal, fought his emotions during his goodbye to what will likely be a Canadian Football Hall of Fame career.

“I’ve been very fortunate enough to experience a lot of incredible moments in my football career. Sitting here today might be the toughest,” Paredes said in a news conference in the Stampeders’ football offices.

“For so many years, football has been more than just a game to me. It’s been my passion, my routine, my motivation, and a huge part of who I am. Today I get to sit here and say I gave this game and this team everything I had.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is being able to spend my entire CFL career with one team.”

His field-goal success rate of 87.6 per cent ranked second all-time in the CFL behind Sean Whyte’s 89 per cent. Whyte, also 41, is still active with the B.C. Lions.

In five Grey Cup appearances, including Calgary’s victories in 2014 and 2018, Paredes didn’t miss a field goal.

His 62-yarder Sept. 19 against the Ottawa Redblacks was the longest of his 13 walk-off, game-winning kicks and was among the longest in CFL history.

Paredes’ 2,559 career points for the Stampeders ranked second in club history to kicker Mark McLoughlin (2,957).

A six-time CFL all-star and winner of the league’s special teams award in 2013, Paredes also held the league’s Ironman record for most consecutive regular-season games played (247) between 2011 and 2025.

But it was missing the first 10 games of this season with a hip injury that sealed his decision to retire, which he announced in October with two games to play.

“One of the biggest reasons is my injury,” Paredes said Thursday. “I’ve been hurt in the last five years and this year really took a toll on me.”

Northern Ireland’s Jude McAtamney, 26, handled field-goal duties until Paredes returned this season.

Stampeders head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson lauded Paredes for how he handled his injury to return this season, and for his execution in big moments throughout his career.

“Clutch is the main thing,” Dickenson said. “If you’re just making your normal kicks, fine, but when you need it the most he makes them and he seemed to make them all.”

Paredes was an undrafted kicker out of Concordia University who was cut by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before the 2011 season.

“I was just a kid hoping for an opportunity,” Paredes recalled.

He went home to Montreal before heading west again to try out with the Stampeders, whose kicker Rob Maver was injured at the time.

Paredes took over field-goal duties, but the two continued as Calgary’s kicking tandem for eight years while Maver handled punting.

Maver called Paredes unflappable.

“He was the same guy, every kick, every practice, snaps, wind, holds, how the balls were, the turf conditions, he went out and did his job every single day,” Maver said.

Kicking will look different in the CFL in 2027, when the goalposts will be moved to the back of the end zone to encourage more touchdowns.

“Those records might stand for a long time,” Paredes said. “Kickers are going to have less kicks, right?”

Paredes, whose wife Melissa and two sons were also on hand Thursday, works for a property restoration company in Calgary and wants to coach young kickers in the community.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press