Expansion of NFL roster size is overdue
As the Kansas City Chiefs and other NFL teams prepare to release hundreds of players, it’s important to remember that the league has the power to expand rosters and provide more opportunities for players.
NFL roster size has come a long way since football’s inception, but it’s still overdue for expansion (at least in this writer’s humble opinion). At one point in time, when the league was known as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) there were no reserve lists or practice squads. It was just fewer than 20 players, with the majority playing offense, defense and special teams. Players lined up and played the game as it was known.
Fast forward 20 years or so and the events during and proceeding World War II forced some changes to how the NFL handled roster size. It fluctuated from 28 players to 33 players during the course of the war. By 1947, rosters were increased to 35 players as the schedule began to implement more games in the regular season. Fast forward another two decades and the creation of the AFL brought roster size up to 40 players.
Rosters as fans currently know them didn’t appear until the first CBA in 1977, which is when 43-man active lists with two inactive players were mutually bargained between the NFLPA and league owners. Expansion teams would eventually be given extra roster spots to make up for a clear talent deficiency. In the ’80s NFL teams introduced their first reserve lists. In 1989, they introduced what would eventually become the practice squad. A year later, the league introduced limits to the offseason roster.
That would eventually lead to the 53-man roster in the 2010 CBA, where roster size was increased to a 46-man active game-day roster and seven inactive players. Practice squads were established at eight players before they were increased to 10 players four years later.
The most recent roster changes came with the 2020 CBA and it was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL game-day roster was expanded from 53 to 55 players with two players being able to be elevated from the practice squad on a weekly basis. There are still only 46 players active on game days, but teams also saw practice squads expand from 10 to 14 to 16 players. That also included the addition of up to six vested veterans on practice squads as opposed to players that hadn’t yet accrued four NFL seasons.
Roster size has changed over the years in order to battle things like competitive balance, salary cap, injuries and illness. At times the league has made a commitment to player development opportunities, but roster expansion is their greatest and seldom-used ally. As league revenue continues to soar to unprecedented heights with yearly salary cap increases, the 53-man roster cap has remained unchanged for nearly two decades. The best the NFL has been able to do is expand practice squad size and add game-day roster elevations.
Today, 864 players will be told they’re not good enough because of an arbitrary number that could and should be changed in order to provide more players with opportunities.
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5 players for Chiefs to monitor during 53-man roster cuts
