ARTICLE XXXIV
PRACTICE SQUADS
Section 1. Practice Squads: For each regular season commencing with the 1993 League Year, the League may elect in accordance with this Article to establish practice squads not to exceed five (5) players per Club.
Section 2. Signing With Other Clubs: Any player under contract to a Club as a practice squad player shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club at any time during the League Year, to serve as a player on any Clubs Active or Inactive List, and any Club is completely free to negotiate and sign such a Player Contract with such player, without penalty or restriction, including, but not limited to, Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period, except that such player shall not be permitted to sign a Player Contract with another Club to serve as a practice squad player while under contract as a practice squad player.
Section 3. Salary: Minimum salary for a practice squad player shall be $3,300 per week for the 1993-97 League Years, $3,650 per week for the 1998-99 League Years, $4,000 per week for the 2000-02 League Years, and $4,350 for the 2003-04 League Years, including post‑season weeks in which his Club is in the playoffs, provided however, that no player who was on a practice squad in the 1992 season shall be paid less than the minimum practice squad salary for that season.
*Extension Agreement 2/25/98
Section 4. Eligibility:
(a) The practice squad shall consist of the following players, provided that they have not served more than one previous season on a Practice Squad: (i) players who do not have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and (ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s). No player may be a practice squad player for more than two seasons.
*Extension Agreement 2/25/98
(b) A player shall be deemed to have served on a Practice Squad in a season if he has passed the clubs physical and has been a member of a clubs Practice Squad for at least three regular season or post-season games (a bye week counts as a game provided that the player is not terminated until after the regular season or post-season weekend in question).
*Extension Agreement 2/25/98
* If a player on the Practice Squad of one club (Club A) signs an NFL Player Contract with another club (Club B),
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(1) the player shall receive three weeks salary of his NFL Player Contract at the 53-player Active/Inactive List minimum even if he is terminated by Club B prior to earning that amount, and (2) Club B is required to count the player on its 53-player Active/Inactive List for three games (a bye week counts as a game) even if he is terminated or assigned via waivers to another club or is signed as a free agent to another clubs 53-player roster or another clubs Practice Squad prior to that time. If the player is terminated from Club Bs 53-player roster and signed to Club Bs Practice Squad, he shall continue to count on the clubs 53-player Active/Inactive List but shall not count against the five-player Practice Squad limit until the three-game requirement has been fulfilled. If a player is terminated prior to the completion of the three-game period and is signed to Club Bs Practice Squad or is signed or assigned to another clubs 53-player roster or Practice Squad, any salary (as that term is defined in Article XXIV, Section 1(c)) that he receives from any NFL club applicable to the three-game period shall be an offset against the three weeks salary that he is entitled to receive from Club B.
(side letter 8-18-97)
