Short answers, pulled from the story.
Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown created the practice squad group of players who never made the main roster but stayed on reserve. Team owner Arthur Mickey McBride placed these athletes on the payroll of his taxicab company Yellow Cab of Cleveland.
The National Football League did not officially recognize taxi squads until the 18th of February 1965. On that date owners adopted a 40-man active roster with an unregulated taxi squad called the future list.
The 2020 collective bargaining agreement increased sizes to twelve players starting that year and fourteen beginning in 2022. This larger size became permanent effective with the 2022 season after being temporarily raised to sixteen for the 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minimum weekly salaries rose steadily from $3,300 between 1993 and 1997 to $15,250 by 2028. In 2020 the minimum weekly salary was $8,400 while a rookie's minimum reached $610,000.
The National Hockey League used taxi squads during the 2020 21 season to describe players traveling with but not playing until needed. Nippon Professional Baseball utilizes a developmental system allowing unrestricted signing of players who cannot play in major league games while CFL teams follow similar rules to the NFL.