NFL practice squad: Salary, rules and eligibility
Since NFL teams can begin filling out practice squads soon, here’s a closer look at how the process actually works.
The NFL roster cutdown process continues on Saturday and teams have until 6 p.m. ET to reduce their roster to 53 active players. Hundreds of players will be released with teams cutting down from 75, although for some, it doesn’t mean the end of the road. Teams will begin filling out their practice squads following final cuts and more than 250 players will be signed.
Being on the practice squad isn’t the same as being on the active roster, but it’s the next best thing. Here are a few rules and details about NFL practice squads.
Practice squad basics
- Each NFL team can have up to eight players on their practice squad.
- Practice squad players ... practice with the team. They do not play in games.
- Not all players are eligible to be signed to NFL practice squads (more on that below).
- Practice squad players are paid per week and can be released at any point during the season.
- Practice squad players are free to sign with other NFL teams, assuming they are signed to the 53-man active roster. A practice squad player cannot be signed to another practice squad unless he is first released.
- A practice squad player can not sign with their team’s upcoming opponent, unless they do so six days before the upcoming game or 10 days if their team is currently on a bye week.
- If a practice squad player is signed to the active roster, they will receiver a minimum of three paychecks, even if they are released before spending three weeks with the team.
- In order to be signed to a practice squad after being released, a player must first clear through waivers.
Eligibility
Practice squads are considered to be for developmental purposes. Therefore, veterans are not eligible to be signed to the practice squad. In fact, players with more than one year of accrued NFL service are not eligible. Here is a closer look at the eligibility requirements.
- A player is eligible if he does not have an accrued season of NFL experience. Players gain an accrued season by being on the active roster for at least six games.
- If a player has one accrued season, they can still be practice squad eligible if they were on the 45-man active gameday roster for less than nine regular season games.
- A player is deemed to have served a season on the practice squad if he remains on the practice squad for at least three weeks. Players are eligible to be on the practice squad for two seasons.
- Players can be eligible for a third practice squad season if their team maintains no less than 53 players on the active/inactive list at all times.
Salary
Practice squad players earn significantly less than players on the active roster, but they still take home a solid weekly paycheck. NFL practice squad players make a minimum of $6,000 per week they are on the practice squad. There is no limit to how much a team can pay a player on the practice squad. Some will offer a higher weekly salary in order to entice better players to sign, although the practice squad contracts do count against the salary cap.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have paid practice squad players significantly more in recent seasons. In 2010, Tampa Bay offered wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe a contract worth equivalent to the minimum salary to entice him to sign to its practice squad.
If a player remains on the practice squad for an entire regular season, he would earn $102,000. A player with less than one accrued season on the active roster would earn a minimum salary of $405,000.
