Prior to the start of the 2014 season, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to expand practice squad rosters from eight to 10 players for the next two seasons. According to Mark Dominik of ESPN.com, that agreement has now been extended for two more years.
In addition, the new extension also allows for two more players with some NFL experience to be eligible for the practice squad.
Prior to the change two years ago, only players without an accrued season of service time or players who weren’t active for more than nine games in their only season of accrued service were eligible to be on a team’s practice squad. The agreement two years ago allowed for two players with as much as two seasons of accrued service time could still be eligible to be on a practice squad. The renewed agreement ups that numbers to four for the next two years.
The allowance for young, but experienced, players allows for the practice squad to be more of a development tool. Some players need more time to develop and can find more opportunities to grow with a given team.
And it also allows for 64 more jobs for players in the NFL that didn’t exist two years ago, which is also a win for players and teams alike. Practice squad players will make a minimum of $6,900 per week this season ($117,300 for full season) and $7,200 ($122,400) in 2017.
