Calling it a momentous day in sports, Jim Popp welcomed Michael Sam, a "trail-blazing athlete" to the Montreal Alouettes.

The Alouettes signed Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL, to a two-year deal last week and introduced him to the media on Tuesday. 

"First off I want to thank Jim Popp and the Montreal Alouettes for allowing me to play football again," Sam said. "I'm so excited to get on the field and get back to work"

Sam has been out of football since being cut from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad in October. He was drafted into the NFL last May when the St. Louis Rams selected him in the seventh round but failed to make the Rams' 53-man roster after training camp.

Sam has been receiving some comparisons to Jackie Robinson, who played in Montreal and broke the colour barrier in baseball, but the defensive end said he's just focusing on his sport.

"I'm just here to play football," Sam said. "I'm not trying to do anything historic."

Popp said the Sam signing was all about getting a great football talent.

"We feel he has a chance to be an outstanding pass rusher in the Canadian Football League," Popp said.

Asked if he believed he got a full shot in the NFL, or if his sexual orientation prevented him from getting a fair shot, Sam simply said he has no regrets and that he's focused on the future with the Alouettes.

That said, Sam said he wasn't treated as a gay football player in the NFL and expects the sam treatment in the CFL.

"In the NFL, they didn't treat me as a gay football player. They treated me as a rookie. I assume I'll be a rookie in Montreal."

Popp meanwhile, hopes that Sam does get another shot down south in the future.

"I hope he does so extraordinary well," the GM said. "That he gets another shot (in the NFL). But he hasn't even brought that up."