How Much Do NFL Practice Squad Players Make?

There are 53 players on an active NFL roster any given week during the season, but they’re not the only ones who are part of the team.

NFL teams can carry as many as 16 additional players on their practice squad. Players earn a standard weekly salary for a duration of their time on a practice squad during the season, though that salary varies depending on experience level. Practice squad player roles and salaries are set by the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs through the 2030 season.

Practice squad players are eligible to be elevated to their team’s active roster or signed to a different team’s active roster at any point. The CBA also allows teams to use a “standard elevation” to make two practice-squad players available to play in a regular-season game. However, such a designation can be used on the same player no more than three times per season.

Let’s take a look at how much NFL practice squad players get paid.

NFL Practice Squad Salary Overview

NFL practice squad players are paid per week, as their status on a practice squad can vary from week to week—they can be cut, given a “standard elevation” to play in that week’s game, or join an active roster.

Practice squad players make $13,000 per week if they have two years or less of service time in the NFL. If they remain on the practice squad for all 18 weeks of a regular season, they would earn $234,000. If they stay on a practice squad for a team that reaches a Super Bowl, they would earn at least $286,000 on the season, not including possible playoff bonuses.

Practice squad players make significantly more if they have been in the NFL for over two years. Their salaries are negotiable between a minimum of $17,500 and a maximum of $25,000 per week.

The current NFL CBA also limits how many players in the latter category can be on a practice squad. Among a team’s 16 available practice squad slots, at least 10 of them must be rookies or second-year players. 

The salaries of practice squad players also increase at a steady rate annually over the current CBA. For instance, the $13,000 per week salary for younger practice squad players is a $500 increase over the $12,500 per week rate in 2024, and the rate will increase again in 2026 to $13,750. Similarly, the negotiable salary range for veteran practice squad players will increase by $850 next year to between $18,350 and $25,850.

NFL Practice Squad Salary Levels by Year and Experience

Here is an overview of how much NFL practice squad players can make by week in 2025.

• Starting Salary (0-2 Years Experience): $13,00 per week
• 2+ Years Experience: $17,500-$25,000 per week

Now, let’s take a look at how these salaries have increased and will continue to increase throughout the current NFL CBA, which was ratified in February 2020 and runs through the end of the 2030 season.

We’ll start with the salary of the majority of practice squad players—those with 0-2 years of experience in the NFL. The following table shows the per-week salary for these players for a given year and the earnings they could accrue if they stayed on a practice squad throughout an entire 18-week regular season.

Next, we’ll move on to the practice squad players with over two years of NFL experience. The following table shows the per-week salary range for these players for a given year and the range of earnings they could accrue if they stayed on a practice squad for an entire 18-week regular season.

Highest Paid NFL Practice Squad players

It’s impossible to determine the current highest-paid practice squad players in the NFL at any given time. There is constant turnover among practice squads as players get cut, promoted to active rosters, or sign with different teams every week. However, higher-profile former Pro Bowlers have to settle for practice squad roles, usually as they reach the end of their careers. 

Running back Dalvin Cook, a four-time Pro Bowler between 2019 and 2022, is a good example. Due in large part to a lucrative contract extension he signed with the Vikings in 2020, Cook has over $41 million in career earnings, per Spotrac. He had a stint on the Ravens’ practice squad (he was later promoted to the active roster) for one week at the end of the 2023 season, where he earned the minimum of $16,100 as he was still making money from a guaranteed contract he had signed with the Jets the prior offseason.

But Cook spent the entire 2024 season on the Cowboys’ practice squad and earned the maximum 18-week veteran salary of $383,400, per Spotrac, along with a $125,000 retention bonus.

NFL Practice Squad Player FAQs

• Do practice squad players get a Super Bowl ring?
  • Yes, practice squad players get Super Bowl rings if they were on the winning team at the time of the Super Bowl, as specifically stipulated by the current NFL CBA: “Practice Squad players on a Club that wins the Super Bowl at the time of the Super Bowl will be entitled to a ring similar in appearance to the one provided to players on the Active/Inactive List but the Club, in its sole discretion, may provide any Practice Squad player with a ring of lesser value.”
• Do NFL practice players travel with the team?
  • Yes, practice-squad players usually travel to both home and away games with their teams, as they could be either added to the active roster or given a standard elevation to play as late as 90 minutes before kickoff when inactive lists are released.
• Do NFL practice players get benefits?
  • Yes. According to the NFL, practice squad players and their eligible dependents receive medical, dental, vision, prescription drug, work/life resources coverage, and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. They can also access a 401(k) salary deferment program and disability insurance.

This article was compiled with information from the NFL, NFLPA, BetMGM, Sporting News, Yahoo! Sports, and SB Nation.

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