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The Official NFL Yearbook 1995 to 1996
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00284_Field_NFLRules.txt
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1995-08-12
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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.