How Much Do NFL Practice Squad Players Earn in 2024? A Detailed Analysis

If you want to know how much an NFL practice squad player gets paid in a regular season then you clicked the right page. 

NFL players are the highest-paid athletes in the world. Every year hundreds of College football players bet their chance to play in one of the most expensive leagues in the world. 

Many college football players get a chance and are selected in the 53-man roster. Albeit it’s hard for players to make room in the roster program. 

However, football players get a chance to sign up for the practice squad by the franchise team. The NFL practice squad season is 18 weeks longer. 

How many players are on the NFL practice squad?

The NFL rules have changed a lot after COVID-19. Before 2020, only 10 players were allowed to play in the NFL practice squad. That changed when the pandemic hit and the players were expanded from 12 to 14 in 2020. At last, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expanded the size of practice squads to 16 players in the 2022 season. 

So now there are a total of 16 players trained with others in the NFL practice squad. In the inception of the NFL, 1993 only five players were limited to play in the practice squad, in case you are scratching your head. 

NFL Rules For Practice Squad Player Selection

There are some rules every NFL franchise has to follow in order to select a practice squad member. There are some restrictions when it comes to choosing the player who left un-drafted for the rest of the season. These rules are as follows-

• As we mentioned above only 16 players are allowed in the practice squad
• Out of 16 players, 10 players have to be rookies or played less than 2 NFL seasons in the league.  
• The rest of the 6 players fall into the Veterans category and has no limitations for how many seasons they have accrued in the previous.
• Teams are allowed to protect four players each week so the other franchise can not sign them. 
• A practice squad player can play in the game only if they get added to the game-day roster ahead of time.
• If a player gets elevated more than thrice then a team has to sign him up in the active-roster program.
• An already active practice squad player cannot be signed by the other teams’ practice squad it is against the rules
• If another team signs a practice squad player to their active roster then they get paid guaranteed for the 3 games 

NFL practice squad salary is not as lucrative as a regular NFL player but it is a decent amount paid by the CBA. This blog will cover how much money NFL practice squad players make in a regular season. 

Also See: Top 10 NFL Head Coach with the Highest-Paid NFL Salary

What is the NFL practice squad players’ salary in 2024?

As per the current CBA, the minimum weekly wage is $12,000 for the player who has accrued 2 or fewer seasons in the NFL in 2023. Each year, that money increased accordingly for example in 2024 a rookie or player with less than 2 NFL seasons will get $12,500 weekly.

In comparison to regular NFL players, it is not much but a liveable amount. This means an NFL practice squad player will make $225,000 a year in one NFL season.  

The table shows the weekly salary for the players who have accrued two or fewer seasons in the NFL League 

The NFL veterans can negotiate their weekly salary for the practice squad and set the dollar range accordingly. However, It is not a very big sum of money to negotiate. The minimum salary range for the NFL veterans in the practice squad starts at $16,800 and goes to $21,300 in 2024.  

So a veteran player who accrued more than two NFL seasons can make a minimum of $302,400 to $383,400 a year in the practice squad.

The table shows the NFL veteran’s weekly salary for the NFL practice squad from 2024 to 2026- 

Unlike regular NFL players, Practice squad players don’t get any signed bonus or any guaranteed money. The amount will increase every year as per the CBA contract which will expire in 2030. 

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