Scout team

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In sports, the scout team, also referred to as a practice team, practice squad or practice roster, is a group of players on a team whose task is to emulate future opponents for the featured (or starting) players. Frequently used in American or Canadian Football, these teams consist of less athletically-developed or less skilled players. However, unlike a traditional scrimmage, scout teams often have to learn a variety of different football playbooks in order to simulate the tendencies of future opponents.

[edit] College football

In college athletics, teams often use the scout team to develop younger players to replace the current starters when they later leave the school. Thus, in college, players on the scout team often include redshirt scholarship athletes, those unable to compete in games due to transfer rules (common in Division 1-A), as well as walk-ons.

[edit] National Football League

Each NFL team may keep up to eight members on their "practice squad" in addition to their 53-member main roster. They consist mostly of rookies who were cut in training camps and borderline NFL-caliber players. Both rookies and young veterans are eligible for the practice squad. However, a player cannot participate on the practice squad for more than three seasons. Practice squad players practice alongside regular roster players during the week; however they are not allowed to play in actual games. They are paid considerably less than active squad players (minimum salary is $5200 per week (2008-2010)^[1] for 17 weeks, or $88,400 per season, in comparison to the NFL minimum rookie salary of $285,000). They are also ineligible for many fringe benefits such as service time, pensions, and the like. They hope to be promoted to the active roster either by their current team, or by another team who is scouting them. They retain free agent status and may sign with any team they wish without compensation to the original team.