History of NFL Roster Limits
Fred Goodwin
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[see comment #13]
Another reason why K-Ps might have died out in the late 1970’s was the
increased roster size, allowing for more specialists. From 1964-73,
rosters were limited to 40 players (hence the Vikings’ old “40 for 60"
motto), but increased to 47 in 1974 (maybe an effect of the player
strike?). The active roster limit went to 43 in 1975-77, 45 in
1978-81, 49 in 1982-1984, and has been at (essentially) 45 since.
:: Travis — 9/22/2006 @ 11:41 am
<http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/09/22/ramblings/too-deep-zone/
4271/>
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[see second Q&A]
Dear Mr. Remmel: how has the NFL roster limit changed? I know when
they instituted free substitution in 1950 teams had something like 35
players on a team. When did that go up? When did it get to the 53 that
it is today? Thank you for your time. - Zac, Oshkosh
Dear Zac: the roster limit's growth has been a relatively gradual
thing, beginning with the first such limit, 16, in 1925. That number,
by the way, increased to 18 players in 1926, remaining static for
three years. For further example, the limit was increased to 40 in
1964 and remained at 40 for nine years, through 1973.
More recently, the limit has held firm at 45 active players annually
for the past 16 years (1991-2007). Each team also has a list of eight
inactive players for each regular season and postseason game. Also,
provided that a club has two quarterbacks on its 45-player Active
List, a third quarterback from its Active List is permitted to dress
for the game, but if he enters the game during the first three
quarters, the other quarterbacks are thereafter prohibited from
playing. Teams also are permitted to establish practice squads of up
to eight players who are eligible to participate in practice, but
these players must remain free agents and are eligible to sign with
any other team in the league.