Waivers The waiver system is a procedure by which player contracts or NFL rights to players are made available by a club to other clubs in the League. During the procedure, the 29 other clubs either file claims to obtain the players or waive the opportunity to do soÑthus the term Òwaiver.Ó Claiming clubs are assigned players on a priority based on the inverse of won-and-lost standing. In 1995, Carolina and Jacksonville will have priority on claiming players through the third weekend of the regular season. If both expansion clubs claim the same player, priority shall be determined by coin toss, with the teams alternating priority thereafter. The claiming period normally is 10 days during the offseason and 24 hours from early July through December. In some circumstances, another 24 hours is added on to allow the original club to rescind its action (known as a recall of a waiver request) and/or the claiming club to do the same (known as withdrawal of a claim). If a player passes through waivers unclaimed and is not recalled by the original club, he becomes a free agent. All waivers from July through December are no recall and no withdrawal. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, from the beginning of the waiver system each year through the trading deadline (October 10, 1995), any veteran who has acquired four years of pension credit is not subject to the waiver system if the club desires to release him. After the trading deadline, such players are subject to the waiver system. Active/Inactive List The Active/Inactive List is the principal status for players participating for a club. It consists of all players under contract who are eligible for preseason, regular-season, and postseason games. In 1995, teams will be permitted to open training camp with no more than 80 players under contract and thereafter must meet two mandatory roster reductions prior to the season opener. Teams will be permitted an Active List of 45 players and an Inactive List of eight players for each regular-season and postseason game during the 1995 season. Provided that a club has two quarterbacks on its 45-player Active List, a third quarterback from its Inactive List is permitted to dress for the game, but if he enters the game during the first three quarters, the other two quarterbacks are thereafter prohibited from playing. Teams also are permitted to establish Practice Squads of up to five players who are eligible to participate in practice, but these players remain free agents and are eligible to sign with any other team in the league. August 22 Roster reduction to 60 players August 27 Roster reduction to 53 players August 28 Teams establish a Practice Squad of up to five players In addition to the squad limits described above, the overall roster limit of 80 players remains in effect throughout the regular season and postseason. The overall limit is applicable to players on a teamÕs Active, Inactive, and Exempt Lists, and any players on the Practice Squad and on the Reserve List as Injured, Physically Unable to Perform, Non-Football Illness/Injury, and Suspended by Club. In 1995, Carolina and Jacksonville are permitted to have 90 players under contract until August 22, when the two expansion clubs must reduce their roster to 65 players. On August 27, Carolina and Jacksonville must establish an Active/Inactive List of 56 players, which will be in effect for the first three weekends of the regular season, after which they must be in compliance with the 53-player roster limit. Gameday roster limits are the same as for the other clubs. Reserve List The Reserve List is a status for players who, for reasons of injury, retirement, military service, or other circumstances, are not immediately available for participation with a club. Players on Reserve/Injured are not eligible to practice or return to the Active/ Inactive List in the same season that they are placed on Reserve. Players in the category of Reserve/Retired or Reserve/Did Not Report may not be reinstated during the period from 30 days before the end of the regular season through the postseason. Trades Unrestricted trading between the AFC and NFC is allowed in 1995 through October 10, after which trading will end until 1996. Annual Active Player Limits NFL Year(s) Limit 1991-95 45** 1985-90 45 1983-84 49 1982 45 -49 1978-81 45 1975-77 43 1974 47 1964-73 40 1963 37 1961-62 36 1960 38 1959 36 1957-58 35 1951-56 33 1949-50 32 1948 35 1947 35*-34 1945-46 33 1943-44 28 1940-42 33 1938-39 30 1936-37 25 1935 24 1930-34 20 1926-29 18 1925 16 ** 45 plus a third quarterback   45 for first two games * 35 for first three games AFL Year(s) Limit 1966-69 40 1965 38 1964 34 1962-63 33 1960-61 35 The following procedures will be used to break standings ties for postseason playoffs and to determine regular-season schedules. To Break a Tie Within a Division If, at the end of the regular season, two or more clubs in the same division finish with identical won-lost-tied percentages, the following steps will be taken until a champion is determined. Two Clubs 1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs). 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, if applicable. 5. Best net points in division games. 6. Best net points in all games. 7. Strength of schedule. 8. Best net touchdowns in all games. 9. Coin toss. Three or More Clubs (Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated during any step, tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format). 1. Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games among the clubs). 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games. 5. Best net points in division games. 6. Best net points in all games. 7. Strength of schedule. 8. Best net touchdowns in all games. 9. Coin toss. To Break a Tie for the Wild Card Team If it is necessary to break ties to determine the three Wild Card clubs from each conference, the following steps will be taken. 1. If the tied clubs are from the same division, apply division tiebreaker. 2. If the tied clubs are from different divisions, apply the following steps. Two Clubs 1. Head-to-head, if applicable. 2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four. 4. Best average net points in conference games. 5. Best net points in all games. 6. Strength of schedule. 7 Best net touchdowns in all games. 8. Coin toss. Three or More Clubs (Note: If two clubs remain tied after third or other clubs are eliminated, tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of applicable two-club format.) 1. Apply division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tiebreaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the three Wild Card participants. 2. Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others). 3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference. 4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four. 5. Best average net points in conference games. 6. Best net points in all games. 7. Strength of schedule. 8. Best net touchdowns in all games. 9. Coin toss. When the first Wild Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild Card, i.e., eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2, and repeated a third time, if necessary, to identify the third Wild Card. In situations where three or more teams from the same division are involved in the procedure, the original seeding of the teams remains the same for subsequent applications of the tiebreaker if the top-ranked team in that division qualifies for a Wild Card berth. Other Tie-Breaking Procedures 1. Only one club advances to the playoffs in any tie-breaking step. Remaining tied clubs revert to the first step of the applicable division or Wild Card tiebreakers. As an example, if two clubs remain tied in any tie-breaker step after all other clubs have been eliminated, the procedure reverts to step one of the two-club format to determine the winner. When one club wins the tie-breaker, all other clubs revert to step 1 of the applicable two-club or three-club format. 2. In comparing division and conference records or records against common opponents among tied teams, the best won-lost-tied percentage is the deciding factor since teams may have played an unequal number of games. 3. To determine home-field priority among division titlists, apply Wild Card tiebreakers. 4. To determine home-field priority for Wild Card qualifiers, apply division tiebreakers (if teams are from the same division) or Wild Card tiebreakers (if teams are from different divisions). Tie-Breaking Procedure for Selection Meeting If two or more clubs are tied in the selection order, the strength-of- schedule tie-breaker is applied, subject to the following exceptions for playoff clubs: 1. The Super Bowl winner is last and the Super Bowl loser next-to-last. 2. Any non-Super Bowl playoff club involved in a tie shall be assigned priority within its segment below that of non-playoff clubs and in the order that the playoff clubs exited from the playoffs. Thus, within a tied segment a playoff club that loses in the Wild Card game will have priority over a playoff club that loses in the Divisional playoff game, which in turn will have priority over a club that loses in the Conference Championship game. If two tied clubs exited the playoffs in the same round, the tie is broken by strength-of-schedule. If any ties cannot be broken by strength-of-schedule, the divisional or conference tie-breakers, whichever are applicable, are applied. Any ties that still exist are broken by a coin flip.