Understanding the NFL’s new roster rules in 2020 — and how the Chiefs could take advantage

Confused by the new CBA’s roster rules? Here’s everything you need to know to be an expert.

When the NFL and the NFL Players Association executed its new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on March 15, the headline-grabbing provisions included a 17-game regular season (which won’t happen any sooner than the 2021 season) and an increase in the players’ cut of league revenue — the biggest part of which will also occur in 2021.

But the new deal also changed some of the rules about team rosters and practice squads — and those have generated a lot of confusion among fans.

So let’s go through exactly how the rules have changed, how they have stayed the same — and how the Kansas City Chiefs might use them.

The rules that haven’t changed

Team rosters are still limited to 53 players — and during the season, the salary cap is still based on the contracts of those 53 players. As before, teams may have up 90 players on their roster through the offseason and training camp, but only the top 51 contracts count against the cap.

The usual rules about practice-squad players still apply: in order to move one to the active roster, another player must be first be removed — either by being placed on a reserve list (such as injured reserve) or being released outright. Once a practice squad player is on the roster, they can only return to the practice squad by first being waived — which allows any other team to pick them up from the waiver wire. Once they have cleared waivers, they may be re-signed to a new practice-squad contract.

Once elevated to the active roster, practice-squad players must be paid a weekly salary (based on 1/17 of their NFL minimum salary) for at least three weeks — even if they are waived from the roster before then. And if a team chooses to poach a practice-squad player from another team, they must be carried on the new club’s 53-man roster for at least three weeks — and be paid accordingly.

The rules that have changed

Practice squad eligibility

As you’ve probably heard, the new CBA allows an expansion of team practice squads from 10 players to 12 in 2020.

UPDATE: during the coronavirus pandemic, teams were allowed to have up to 16 players on their practice squads. In May of 2022, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to extend this change to the 2022 season.

But eligibility rules have been substantially relaxed. Players who can be on practice squads now fall into four groups:

1. Players with less than one accrued NFL season (six games on an active roster)
2. Players who have been on an active roster for fewer than nine regular-season games during their only accrued season(s)
3. Players who have earned no more than two accrued seasons with any number of games
4. Players with any number of accrued seasons

If you think the third and fourth groups are a departure from the old rules, you’re right. It is.

But both of them have a limitation: a team may only have four practice-squad players whose eligibility is based on Group 3 — and only two based on Group 4. Starting in 2022 — when the squad size increases to 14 players — four Group 4 layers will be allowed.

UPDATE: In May of 2022, the NFL and NFLPA agreed that for 2022, as many as 10 Group 3 players and six Group 4 players would be permitted — as long as the total number of Group 3 and Group 4 players does not exceed 10.

Wouldn’t this allow a class of professional practice-squad players to exist? In some respects, it would — particularly if we’re talking about players who have been in the league for a number of years, but who aren’t quite good enough to be on a team’s roster.

A team might want to have a couple of guys like that on their practice squad to provide veteran leadership and improve roster depth. In the case of the Chiefs, think of players like Anthony Sherman or Daniel Sorensen. If they become cap casualties (and can’t find a spot on another team) the Chiefs might consider putting them on their practice squad. Whether or not the Chiefs (or any other team) will choose to make such a move is unknown — but the new rules would allow it.

Practice squad pay

The 2011 CBA only stated a minimum weekly salary for practice-squad players. Otherwise, teams could pay them whatever they wanted — usually so that their players would be less likely to be poached. As recently as last season, the New England Patriots (of course it was the Patriots) reportedly paid a practice-squad player the minimum active roster salary to keep them from being poached. The only limitation on practice-squad salaries was that they counted against the salary cap — and they still do.

But the new CBA eliminates unlimited practice-squad salaries. All practice-squad players are paid a fixed weekly salary established under the CBA — except for Group 4 players, for whom the CBA establishes a minimum and maximum salary. In 2020, both are $12,000 for Group 4; all other practice-squad players will be paid $8,400 per week. In 2022, the Group 4 salaries must be between $15,400 and $19,900, while all others will be paid $11,500.

Practice squad elevation

As noted before, the normal rules about moving a player from the practice squad to the active roster remain in place. But the new CBA adds an alternative method called the Standard Elevation Addendum (SEA).

In many news articles about the CBA, brief descriptions of the SEA have led to a misconception that NFL rosters were increasing to 55 players — but this isn’t the case.

The SEA has its roots in the 2011 CBA’s Contagious Disease Addendum (CDA). This provision allowed a team that had been granted a roster exemption because one of its players had been infected with a contagious disease to easily (and temporarily) elevate a practice-squad player for a game. The player would be paid 1/17 of the appropriate NFL minimum salary for the game — and afterward, would automatically be returned to the practice squad. There was no requirement that they be paid as a regular player for three weeks — or pass through the waiver system before returning.

The new SEA does exactly the same thing — except that no doctor’s note (a roster exemption) is required; teams may use it for any reason they wish. It may be used on as many as two practice-squad players per game.

But both the SEA and the CDA (which remains in the 2020 deal) have a significant catch: they may not be applied to the same player for consecutive games. If a team wishes to make the practice-squad player available for the next game, the CBA requires that it “must follow all of the established procedures for signing a practice squad player to an NFL player contract” — in other words, do it the old-fashioned way.

There is one other wrinkle to the SEA — one that is not shared by the older CDA: it may be used only twice per season on an individual player. Any other elevation of that player to the active roster must be done using the “established procedures.”

UPDATE: In May of 2022, the NFL and NFLPA agreed that for 2022, a SEA elevation could be used on an individual player as many as three times during a given regular season — and that there would be no limit on SEA elevations for postseason games.

We don’t know how often teams will opt to use the SEA. But it’s not hard to imagine where it could be useful.

Let’s say Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward is nursing a hamstring injury. He might be able to play on Sunday, but you think he’ll be ready to play a week later. Using the SEA to make a practice-squad corner available to play in the coming game makes it easier to make a game-day decision that allows Ward to rest for another week.

The game-day roster

Under the 2011 CBA, teams were allowed to dress 46 players from their 53-man roster for a game. Under the new deal, they can dress 47. They can also dress a 48th player — as long as the game-day roster includes at least eight offensive linemen. But as we’ve seen, they can choose not just from their active roster, but also from designated practice-squad players — up to two from applications of the SEA, and perhaps more from CDA designations.

But why do offensive linemen get an extra roster spot?

It is believed to be because of the way the modern game is being played. To keep them fresh, defensive linemen are routinely rotated in and out of the lineup. Offensive linemen, however, tend to be a static group of players who are on the field for every offensive snap. This has led to most teams making just seven offensive linemen active on game days — meaning that after just two injuries on the offensive front, no one is available in the event of a third injury.

Last season, the Chiefs had at least two offensive linemen inactive for every single game. In about half of the games, three were inactive — and in one game, four didn’t dress. It’s a safe bet that the Chiefs will opt to dress a 48th player on game days.