The Patriots have a long history of paying some practice squad players more than the minimum salary. According to a league source, they continued this tradition earlier this month by setting the weekly pay of tight end Stephen Anderson higher than the minimum.
A little background: The 2018 standard weekly pay for a practice squad player is $7,600. The minimum yearly salary for a practice squad player is $129,200. The 2017 standard weekly pay for an NFL rookie is $28,235.91. The minimum yearly salary for a rookie is $480,000.
The Patriots have 10 players on their practice squad. Two of them make more than the minimum: Anderson makes $15,000 a week, or $255,000 a year. Offensive lineman Eric Smith makes $20,000 a week, or $340,000 a year.
Why pay practice-squad players more than the minimum? Several possible reasons. There was competition for the player and the Patriots had to outbid a team to acquire the player's services. It shows appreciation and encourages them to stay with the Patriots if offered a chance to sign with another team. Increasing the pay of a practice-squad player makes it more likely the player will sign a future contract with the team after the 2018 season ends.
As you can see in the below table, the Patriots have committed a total of $1,727,800 to their 10-man practice squad this year. They could have spent as little as $1,292,000 ($7,600 times 17 weeks times 10 players).
[table id=130 /]
Answering some anticipated questions
Question: What teams are also paying some of their practice squad players more than the minimum?
Answer:
- New York Jets: 6
- Detroit Lions: 3
- Baltimore Ravens: 2
- Denver Broncos: 2
- New Orleans Saints: 2
- Philadelphia Eagles: 2
- San Francisco 49ers: 2
- Chicago Bears: 1
- Minnesota Vikings: 1
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1
- Washington: 1