Home › Learn › Rosters and money

Rosters and money

15 questions new fans ask, answered in plain English. Each answer links the rulebook or league page it comes from.

What is the 2026 salary cap?

$301.2 million per team, the first cap ever over $300 million. That's up $22 million from 2025's $279.2 million.

Source: NFL announces 2026 salary cap set at $301.2 million per team (NFL.com) · link to this answer

What does the salary cap actually do?

It limits how much each team can spend on player salaries in a season, which helps keep teams competitive. Even injured players' pay counts against it.

Source: NFL announces 2026 salary cap set at $301.2 million per team (NFL.com) · Trade press (FOX Sports): What do NFL roster designations mean? (updated July 2025) · link to this answer

How many players are on a team?

Up to 90 in the offseason and training camp. By the final cutdown (Aug. 30 in 2026), teams must get to 53 on the active/inactive list.

Source: NFL announces important dates for 2026-2027 (Seahawks.com, relaying the league calendar) · Trade press (FOX Sports): What do NFL roster designations mean? (updated July 2025) · link to this answer

How many players dress for a game?

Teams set a game-day active list of 47 or 48 players from the 53. The 2020 labor deal allows 48 if at least eight are offensive linemen.

Source: NFL emergency third-quarterback rule: Questions and answers (NFL.com) · NFL, NFLPA ratify new collective bargaining agreement (Giants.com, 2020) · link to this answer

What is the practice squad?

It's a group of players who practice with the team but aren't on the 53. In 2026 each team may have 17, one of them an International Pathway player. A player can be promoted for game day up to three times a season.

Can other teams sign a practice-squad player?

Yes, at any time. But the signing team has to put him on its 53-man active roster.

Source: Trade press (FOX Sports): What do NFL roster designations mean? (updated July 2025) · link to this answer

What is injured reserve (IR)?

IR is for players hurt badly enough to miss significant time. A player on IR must sit at least four games. Teams can bring back up to eight IR players per season (10 for playoff teams), and since 2025 they can designate two to return at the 53-man cutdown.

Source: Trade press (FOX Sports): What do NFL roster designations mean? (updated July 2025) · 2025 NFL rule, bylaw and resolution changes (TheRams.com) · Looking at tweak to kickoff, other rules changes for 2025 season (NFL.com) · link to this answer

What's the PUP list?

"Physically Unable to Perform" is for players still recovering from football injuries when camp opens. Players moved to reserve/PUP for the regular season miss at least four games. A 2026 rule lets them start a 21-day practice window after the team's second game.

Source: Trade press (FOX Sports): What do NFL roster designations mean? (updated July 2025) · NFL announces new playing rules, bylaws, resolutions for 2026 (NFL.com) · link to this answer

How does free agency work?

When a contract ends, a player with four or more accrued seasons is an unrestricted free agent and can sign anywhere. A player with three is a restricted free agent: his old team can match outside offers or receive draft-pick compensation.

Source: The NFL explains free agency (Buccaneers.com, archival league explainer) · link to this answer

What is the franchise tag?

A team can use one tag a year to keep a key player from leaving, by offering a one-year salary based on the top earners at his position. Other teams can sometimes still make offers, but it costs them draft picks.

Source: The NFL explains free agency (Buccaneers.com, archival league explainer) · link to this answer

When does free agency open in 2027?

Teams may start negotiating with other clubs' pending free agents at noon ET on March 9, 2027. Signings and the new league year begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 11.

Source: NFL announces important dates for 2026-2027 (Seahawks.com, relaying the league calendar) · link to this answer

When is the 2026 trade deadline?

4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. After that, players can't be traded until the offseason.

Source: NFL announces important dates for 2026-2027 (Seahawks.com, relaying the league calendar) · link to this answer

Who sets these rules?

Most roster, pay and free-agency rules come from the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NFL and the NFL Players Association. The current CBA, ratified in 2020, runs through the 2030 season.

Source: NFL, NFLPA ratify new collective bargaining agreement (Giants.com, 2020) · link to this answer

Is the NFL going to 18 games?

Not in 2026, when the schedule is 17 games. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said an 18th game would be part of formal CBA talks with the players' union.

Source: Trade press (Front Office Sports): Goodell - 18-game season not on table until CBA talks begin · Trade press (FBSchedules): NFL schedule release 2026, complete 18-week slate · link to this answer

What changed for free agents in 2026?

Owners made permanent a 2025 trial rule. During the two-day negotiation window, a team may have one video or phone call with up to five prospective unrestricted free agents, not just their agents.

Source: NFL announces new playing rules, bylaws, resolutions for 2026 (NFL.com) · 2025 NFL rule, bylaw and resolution changes (TheRams.com) · link to this answer