Chris Merchant

Chris Merchant (born October 10, 1995) is a Canadian football quarterback for the Fehérvár Enthroners of the Hungarian American Football League (HAFL). He is a Vanier Cup champion after leading the Western Mustangs to a win in 2017 and a Hec Crighton Trophy winner after he earned the award in the final year of his university playing eligibility in 2019.

University career Buffalo Bulls Merchant joined the Buffalo Bulls on a full-ride scholarship in 2014 where he had a redshirt season in his first year. He had been recruited to the University of Buffalo by Jeff Quinn, but Quinn was fired midway through 2014. However, new head coach Lance Leipold and his coaching staff had recruited Tyree Jackson in 2015 and indicated that Jackson would be the starter for the 2016 season.

Western Mustangs Merchant became the starting quarterback for the Western Mustangs and played in all eight regular season games in 2016. That year, he completed 107 passes out of 161 attempts for 1,720 yards with 14 passing touchdowns and five interceptions. He led the team to a first-place finish in the OUA and narrowly lost the Yates Cup to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks by a score of 43–40.

In 2017, Merchant again played in eight regular season games where he had 127 completions from 207 pass attempts for 1,995 yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He was also successful with running the ball as he had 13 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns en route to being awarded the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the game's MVP. The Mustangs defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Mitchell Bowl with Merchant throwing for 251 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 82 yards and one touchdown.

After attending training camp with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes, Merchant returned to the Mustangs to complete his U Sports eligibility. He again led the team to an 8–0 regular season record as he had 2,378 passing yards and a 68.5% completion rate with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions to go along with 438 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Western could not recover and lost the game to the McMaster Marauders 29–15. He finished his collegiate career having played in 32 regular season games, completing 521 out of 775 pass attempts for 8,202 yards with 57 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

Professional career

Montreal Alouettes Merchant was eligible for the 2019 CFL draft, but was not selected and signed as an undrafted free agent on May 19, 2019, with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was then released on June 8, 2019, as the Alouettes kept former Laval quarterback, Hugo Richard, who Merchant had faced twice in Vanier Cup games.

Wasa Royals Merchant signed with the Wasa Royals of the Vaahteraliiga on February 17, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was unable to play with the team for the 2020 season.

Las Rozas Black Demons On August 10, 2020, it was announced that Merchant had signed with the Las Rozas Black Demons of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano to play in their 2021 season. He led the team to an appearance in the championship game, but suffered a serious knee injury as he watched his team lose to the Badalona Dracs 31–21.

Fehérvár Enthroners Merchant signed with the Fehérvár Enthroners of the Hungarian American Football League ahead of the 2022 season.