My Dumb Football Question

[Discuss Thrower]

Is what's the reasoning in limiting the roster to 53 players, and the 45~ active players allowed per game? I am truly confused by this rule.

[Deberg_1990]

Ask Dick Vermeil....he was perplexed by this as well...

[Direckshun]

Fifty-three is the 16th prime number. It is also an Eisenstein prime.

53 written in hexadecimal is 35, that is, the same characters used in the decimal representation, but reversed. Three multiples of 53 share this property: 371 = 17316, 5141 = 141516, 99481 = 1849916.

But 53 can not be expressed as the sum of any integer and its base 10 digits, making 53 a self number.

It's the atomic number of iodine.

Fifty-three is the code for international direct dial phone calls to Cuba.

The racing number of Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own, first appeared in the 1968 movie The Love Bug with the number 23.

"53 Days" was a classic novel by Georges Perec.

Ringo Starr’s book "Postcards From the Boys" (2003) contains 53 postcards from fellow Beatles.

Don't forget Levi's 53 children's sneakers.

The width of a football field is 53 1/3 yards.

Pitchers Jim Palmer and Gaylord Perry each had 53 career shutouts.

Need I say more? Mods close this thread.

[cdcox]

A smaller roster size helps maintain competitive balance and works in favor of the better players by giving them a better chance to be starters.

With a very large roster size, you could have a situation where a team has a ton of talent at a certain position. Some of that talent is going to sit on the bench and may not cost the team very much money to allow them to do that.

With a small roster, you have to make every slot count. So the 4th best reciever on your team may get released if he can't play special teams. That player becomes the 3rd best reciever on another team or maybe even the second best reciever. So it spreads the talent around more and allows the best players to see the field eariler in their career.

IMO, it is good for the game.

[Discuss Thrower]

A smaller roster size helps maintain competitive balance and works in favor of the better players by giving them a better chance to be starters.

With a very large roster size, you could have a situation where a team has a ton of talent at a certain position. Some of that talent is going to sit on the bench and may not cost the team very much money to allow them to do that.

With a small roster, you have to make every slot count. So the 4th best reciever on your team may get released if he can't play special teams. That player becomes the 3rd best reciever on another team or maybe even the second best reciever. So it spreads the talent around more and allows the best players to see the field eariler in their career.

IMO, it is good for the game.

That explains the 53 number, but not the 45 players allowed to be active.

[HonestChieffan]

Fools!!!

NEVER mention 45 again. Bad Medicine that.