NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 33
Practice Squads

Section 1
Practice Squads

(a)

In the 2020 and 2021 League Years Practice Squads shall not exceed twelve (12) players per Club. Beginning with the 2022 League Year and for the remainder of this Agreement, Practice Squads shall not exceed fourteen (14) players per Club.

(b)

The League may elect to allow some or all Clubs to add to their Practice Squads one additional player, who shall not count against the limit above, whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States, its Territories, and Canada (“International Player”). The League’s election in any one season shall not determine or affect its election in any subsequent season. Such International Players shall be subject to the same terms and conditions of employment that apply to other Practice Squad players except that they may not, during the term of their Practice Squad Contract, negotiate or sign an NFL Player Contract with any Club. In addition, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 below, such International Player shall be eligible to serve on a Practice Squad for three additional seasons after the completion of the player’s year(s) as an International Player. As set forth in Section 3 below, the weekly salary for such International Players shall not be included in the employing Club’s Team Salary and shall instead be deducted from the calculation of the Salary Cap in the same manner as any Player Benefit Cost. Any NFL Club may, but is not required to, reimburse an International Player for the actual, ordinary and reasonable legal expenses and filing fees incurred by the player in securing a visa permitting the player to work in the United States. If permitted by applicable federal law, a Club may elect to pay such filing fees directly to the responsible government agency, and may elect to pay the player’s actual, ordinary and reasonable legal expenses directly to the third-party attorneys or law firms providing such services. All such reimbursements or payments shall be contingent upon the service provider or the player providing the Club with receipts and/or invoices for those expenses and fees. If made in compliance with this provision, the reimbursement or payment of such legal expenses and filing fees shall not be considered Salary, Rookie Salary or a Player Benefit Cost. Any reimbursements or payments beyond the scope of this provision are prohibited. The Club shall promptly report to the NFL all reimbursements or payments, and shall simultaneously submit all receipts and/or invoices reimbursed or paid by the Club. The NFL shall have the right to audit the records of Clubs or Club affiliates to investigate possible violations of this provision. If any Club has made reimbursements or payments that exceed the permissible scope of this provision, (i) the NFL may seek enforcement of any applicable provision of this Agreement including, without limitation, Article 7, Article 13 and Article 14; and (ii) the amount by which such reimbursement or payment exceeds the actual, ordinary and reasonable legal expenses and filing fees incurred by the player may be charged to the League-wide Total Rookie Compensation Pool, the League-wide Year-One Rookie Compensation Pool and to the Club's Total Rookie Allocation, YearOne Rookie Allocation and Team Salary, to the extent those provisions apply to Rookie players or Veteran players. In no event will the Club be responsible for, or incur any liability for or relating to, the adequacy or competency of legal advice rendered to the player by third-party attorneys or law firms or for the result of the player’s application. For the purpose of Club reimbursement of legal expenses and filing fees as detailed in this Subsection (b), an "international player" is a non-US citizen NFL Rookie player or Veteran player who is, or would be, required to secure a visa or other immigration-related approval to practice and play for the Club, whether under an NFL Player Contract or under a Practice Squad Player Contract.

(c)

All NFL Practice Squad Player Contracts shall consist of (a) the .pdf Practice Player Contract Form attached hereto as Appendix J (which may not be modified in the form itself); and (b) any attachment submitted therewith containing any changes agreed to between the Club and practice player in a practice player’s contract consistent with the provisions of the CBA, pursuant to Subsection 1(d) below (collectively, the “.pdf Practice Player Contract”). Any such attachment shall be paginated, and each page of any such attachment shall be initialed by the practice player and the Club. The provision of any Practice Player Contract or copy thereof as required by the CBA (for example, without limitation, as required by Article 26, Section 7) may be effectuated by email or other electronic transmission of the complete .pdf Practice Player Contract to the NFL (nflwaivers@nfl.com) or the NFLPA (Mark.Levin@nflpa.com), as applicable. Any reference to the “Practice Player Contract” herein shall apply equally to the .pdf Practice Player Contract Form attached hereto as Appendix J.

(d)

The .pdf Practice Player Contract cannot be amended without the approval of the Management Council and the NFLPA. Notwithstanding the foregoing, changes may be agreed to between a Club and a Practice Squad player consistent with the provisions of this Agreement.