Hamilton's Nick Setta, this year's CFL kicking champion, says he will do what's best for him and the Tiger-Cats in an off-season that could see the former Notre Dame standout give the NFL another shot. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

How many times have you heard the story about an American athlete heading to the Canadian Football League to hone his skills, then becoming one of its stronger players, only to return home the following season to earn the big bucks?

Nick Setta told CBCSports.ca he doesn't wish to be part of that group, despite the fact his agent, Frank Murtha, is already gauging interest in the National Football League, where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats kicker toiled the previous three seasons.

"The NFL has always been a dream and the CFL is a dream come true that I didn't know was a dream," said Setta, who has a player option in his contract for next season. "In the end, the CFL is the best opportunity for me.

"I have such respect for the CFL, but like anything, there are always new opportunities. You could be gone [released from the team] tomorrow. You keep all options open in anything in life."

On Thursday, Setta fell to B.C. Lions defensive end Cameron Wake for CFL rookie of the year honours at the league's annual awards ceremony in Toronto, site of Sunday's 95th Grey Cup.

After starring at the University of Notre Dame, Setta had unsuccessful stints in the NFL with New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Cleveland and Buffalo, where veteran Bills punter Brian Moorman encouraged him to start punting again.

As a place-kicker and punter, Setta drew interest from the CFL, in particular the Tiger-Cats, who signed the Lockport, Ill., native to a free-agent contract in December 2006.

Setta, 26, made such an impression on his new team that then-Hamilton general manager Marcel Desjardins traded starting kicker Jamie Boreham to Saskatchewan in March.

Setta went on to lead the league in field-goal percentage (84.9), finished fifth in punting with a 44-yard average and posted the longest field goal of the season at 53 yards.

"The first thing I noticed about Nick is he's a good, quality guy," said retired Ticats receiver Mike Morreale, who opened training camp with Setta before calling it a career. "He is in the same mould as a [Mike] Vanderjagt or a [Noel] Prefontaine. He's an athlete who kicks.

"Sometimes you get selfish and want to keep these guys around [the CFL], but at the same time you realize it's a business and they have to go where they're needed. Hopefully, he'll remain a Ticat and the organization can keep him."

CBCSports.ca spoke with Setta about his interest in the CFL, his performance this season and enduring a 3-15 campaign in Hamilton.

Why did the CFL become an attractive option after a few stints with various teams in the NFL?
The whole reason is this is where you get to kick and punt. When I was in Buffalo, [Bills punter] Brian Moorman pushed me to become a punter as well. No one really gave me a chance at punting, and I've always been confident in punting, but they looked at me more as a kicker. I had a couple of good games [punting] where I pinned [the opposition] inside its five-yard line a couple of times. At that point, [I was told] the CFL was looking for me, and I needed to make some money. Doing pre-season [work in the NFL] you might as well be unemployed. I came up here and [the Ticats] really were enthused and I was enthused about them. It was the right place at the right time.

Born and raised in Lockport, Ill., how much did you know about the Canadian game?
I knew about it but I didn't get to watch it because it wasn't televised. There was news about it but I didn't have any knowledge. It's embarrassing that I didn't know because of the history. The Ticats organization is 138 years old. Geez, we've got what, Super Bowl thirty-whatever back home? It's not 95 [like this year's Grey Cup]. I've fallen in love with the CFL. I love everything about it: the punting, the kicking. You're a player here a lot more than you are in the NFL, so I really enjoy that.

What was your greatest learning experience in your first CFL season?
During the season, I think the type of game it is, is what I learned more than anything. How a team can start off so good and not be so good at the end [of the season]. There are a lot of good teams that went back and forth. I learned the game and that was more important for me. I learned what's needed, what's important, how important a kickoff is.

You have played in the NCAA, the NFL and now the CFL. How does the Canadian game rank as far as enjoyment for a kicker?
This was the best season I've ever had in terms of having fun, by far. Notre Dame is the best football place in the world but CFL football allows you to do more. You're more part of the game. When you only have two downs and you have to punt, you're part of it. If you're a kicker and punter you're going to get four or five field goals in a game. I love it, put me out there. In the NFL, you'll get a five or six field-goal game once. In college, I had six field goals in my first game of each year and that was it for the rest of the season.

What adjustments do you make as a kicker coming to the CFL from the NFL and college ranks?
The winds here are completely different. I've learned how to punt into a wind consistently better than I ever have. To have a 25-kilometre-per-hour or 30-kilometre-per-hour wind in my face and be able to cut the ball through it, that' s what I was happiest about this whole year. I was able to control the ball. The angles are much bigger because you have the bigger field. You want to pin [the other team deep in its end] but you can't direct the ball out of bounds [between the 20-yard lines or you get penalized]. That's hard. The benefit I had was that I could [kick the ball] a little straighter but I could put it up a lot higher [to give the coverage guys] time to get downfield.

How important was it for you to score the most points of any kicker in the CFL this season?
Towards the end [of the season] absolutely I wanted to [win the kicking race]. At the end of the year I want every award that I can get. During the season I'm doing what I have to do to help my team, but that award is not just for me, it's for my teammates. Those guys got me in position to kick field goals. Those guys got me in position to get a 40-yard net [punting average]. When I became confident in them is when my job [became a lot easier] as long as I did the right things in practice during the week.

You led the CFL in field goal percentage (84.9), finished fifth in punting with a 44-yard average and had the longest field goal of the season at 53 yards. How would you grade your performance?
I'm happy with the [CFL top rookie] award [nomination] but there's a lot that could get worked on. I'm nowhere near what I want to be. Some of the field goals went in, some of them didn't. Some of the punts went where they [coaches] wanted them to go, some of them didn't. I'm half of where I need to be, in terms of getting to where I'm somewhat content. I still have big changes that need to be made in what I do. I just want to be more consistent with everything. Technique is pretty close but is ever-evolving. I look at [professional golfer] Tiger Woods and I see that he was at the top of his game and he changed it. The moment you say you're the best, you're done.

Despite the fact that your agent is guaging interest in the NFL, it sounds like you' re open to returning to the CFL?
Absolutely. In the end, it's the best opportunity. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the city of Hamilton has shown me a lot of love. They are the reason I was able to do what I did this season. To come and be comfortable in a place — a foreign place in a foreign league — has a lot to do with the people that you surround yourself with. But businesses are businesses. Tomorrow, I could be old news and there could be some Canadian guy who can do all three [kickoffs, field goals and punting] and Nick Setta is gone. I want to do what's best for myself, the Ticats and — morally, ethically, everything — then whatever it is should be best for everybody.

That said, is there sentiment to go back to the United States and give the NFL one more try?
The NFL has always been a dream and the CFL is a dream come true that I didn't know was a dream. I take pride in being here and doing this because I know there are thousands and thousands of kids in Canada that their dream is to play for the Tiger-Cats. I've talked to a bunch of them. So, I don't take anything for granted. Right now I'm a Hamilton Tiger-Cat. When the Grey Cup ends, my job is to get better so that I can help the Hamilton Tiger-Cats win a Grey Cup.

Has your agent, Frank Murtha, started negotiations with Hamilton?
They've been talking back and forth and I'm sure once the Grey Cup is over we'll know a little more what's going on and see what the future holds.

How distracting was it playing in Hamilton this year when you consider all the player movement before and during the season along with the constant rumblings of front-office shuffling?
Honestly, there's always something going on in the locker room or some guys are talking about this guy doing this and this. That's any team. It may have been a little more in our locker room but our team is what makes me probably not want to leave Hamilton. It was so frustrating to lose games because our team stuck together. If you had walked in our locker room after the 13th, 16th or 17th game, you would think this was a Grey Cup-contending team. Is that a good thing or bad thing? It's a good thing because guys are sticking together. We never stopped. We fought until the end of the season. If we started the season at the end of the season I can't imagine the same thing [3-15 record] close to happening.