If you are a NFL fan, you definitely want to learn about the newest rule in place for Super Bowl XLV. The NFL veteran minimum has been increased to ten players from the current limit of seven. This is to eliminate some of the younger athletes with an obvious shot at the Super Bowl. If you are a former player and think this might change the game, it will.
Just as all teams have a Hall of Fame list, so do NFL teams. The NFL recognizes ten retired players who were a part of the Super Bowl winning team. These ten are given an extra spot on the active roster to be counted as a rookie. Every NFL team has at least one member on the practice squad. In some cases they have more than one.
If you think that this might change the game a bit, think again. The NFL has always treated the former MVP as a rookie because he was one of the newer players. Now the NFL has added a little-known rule where a team can keep any player on their active roster once they have reached the age of 10 years old. That means that Cam Newton is now officially a rookie.
One player who probably will not be eligible to start is LaDanian Tomlinson. He is one of the five active NFL players who was a rookie as a member of the Saints in 2021. His contract with the Saints expires at the end of this season. He will be 35 at the start of next year and will not be able to sign a contract for the 2021 season.
Now let’s look at how this will affect the NFL’s compensations. The NFL does not give its players any compensation beyond the rookie fee unless they have played in two professional seasons. So, if Newton was eligible to receive a vet bonus because he was a rookie in 2021, he will not be able to do so. This means that rookies, which account for approximately twenty percent of the NFL’s cap hit, will not benefit much from the new CBA deal. As a result, veteran minimum players, which account for around forty percent of the NFL’s cap hit, will be able to continue playing at the same salary level as they were paid last year.
So what does this mean for you? It means that you are likely to see a decrease in your NFL cap hit next year if you select a veteran minimum player to sign. However, don’t worry too much about this. Remember, this change only affects veteran minimum players. We will have more of that in a minute.