NFL Draft Diamonds

NFL Draft, NFL Trade Rumors, Scouting Reports & More

Who is eligible for the Practice Squad? How does Practice Squads work? | Practice Squad Rules

Who is eligible for the Practice Squad? How does Practice Squads work? | Practice Squad Rules
Who is eligible for the Practice Squad? How does Practice Squads work? | Practice Squad Rules

Tomorrow, over 1,000 football players around the NFL will be cut. Many will latch on to a teams’ practice squad but others will be out of a job. We wanted to break down how the practice squad works, and the rules associated with it.

Let’s get to it!

Practice squad rules

How many players can be placed on a team’s practice squad? 

NFL practice squads currently consist of 16 players

Who is eligible to be a practice squad? 

Here are the current eligibility rules:

  • Players who do not have an accrued season of NFL experience.
  • Free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine games in their only accrued season.
  • A maximum of 10 free agent players who have earned no more than two accrued seasons.
  • A maximum of six free agent players with no limitations to their number of earned accrued seasons.

When can teams start building practice squads? 

Once the waiver claim period ends teams can begin to sign players to their practice squads. So you are looking at or around Wednesday afternoon. Several players are told they will be placed on the Practice Squad of a team if they are not claimed.

If you want to know how the waiver wire works, you can check out our other article on Waiver Wire Rules from this morning.

How much do practice squad players make? 

Players with two accrued seasons or less will earn $12,000 for each week they are on a practice squad. Players with more than two accrued seasons will earn at least $16,100 per week with a maximum of $20,000.

Leave a Reply