The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in the running for quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, per sources.

It’s turned into a three-team competition for Mitchell between the Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts and Riders. The Stamps bumped their offer up last night while the Argos presented Mitchell with a large offer after free agency kicked off.

Team president Craig Reynolds and general manager Jeremy O’Day has crafted an offer to try and convince Mitchell to play in Regina.

Mitchell has a winning pedigree: his 69-15-2 regular season win-loss record and .802 winning percentage is the top mark in CFL history. He has two Grey Cup victories and two CFL MOP awards.

According to sources, Saskatchewan’s ideal scenario at football’s most important position features the Riders wanting to show Mitchell the benefits of playing in Riderville. The organization could pull out all the stops in an effort to sell Mitchell and his family on playing in the Green and White.

The Riders would try and sway Mitchell, pushing the benefits of being the face of the franchise – especially post-playing career when Mitchell could earn income in various ways long after the days of stepping on the football field are over. Combined with the benefits of playing in a state of the art facility for a rabid fan base.

The Riders top two quarterbacks made nearly $600,000 in combined salary last season with Zach Collaros earning $430,000 while Brandon Bridge collected over $160,000. Committing all those dollars to a single player could put the Riders and then some would put the Riders in Mitchell’s monetary territory: $750,000. Financially, the Riders could be in a position to put forth a competitive offer.

But ultimately staying with Calgary won out.