Why 53? The hidden logic behind NFL roster limits

The start of the 2025 NFL season is fast approaching, with Super Bowl LIX winners the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys in the opening game on Thursday, September 4. Before then, though, head coaches across the league must cut their rosters to 53 players, with the deadline on Tuesday (August 26) at 4pm ET.

How do NFL rosters work?

Given only 11 players can be on the field at any one time, a 53-player roster may seem like a lot. Especially considering each team also has a 16-man practice squad on top of that (17 if they have a player from the International Pathway Program).

Practice squad players have the opportunity to be called up to the main 53-man roster depending on injuries or trades later in the season. But NFL teams are also allowed to poach practice squad players from other teams for their main roster as long as they take someone out by either trading them, waiving them or placing them on the PUP list. They cannot, though, take them for their own practice squad.

The rules on roster sizes have varied over the years, with the NFL settling on 53 players in 1993. With teams now forced to name 48-man active game-day rosters, five players are inactive in each game.

The reasons for the NFL’s 53-player rosters

Why did the NFL decide on 53? There are a number of reasons, including competitive balance, roster management, and salary cap implications.

Having a 53-player limit prevents franchises from stockpiling talented young players that would have more chance of getting game time and developing with another team. The league also believes it is the optimal number for teams to make the best use of their salary cap, both in terms of simply sticking to it and fielding a competitive team.

Head coaches must carefully decide which players to keep and which to trade, a test of their management. Although they are also helped in some ways; having too much choice can sometimes be a hinderance.

The NFL feels having 53 players on roster, with 48 active on a game day, is the ideal blend of starters and backups, giving players both enough game time and opportunity to be rested, if need be, to maximise their performance.

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