What happens if a player remains on injured reserve without playing for an entire season?

When a player is placed on injured reserve (IR) and does not play for the entire season, their salary remains unchanged. This means that despite not being able to participate in games due to injury, the player continues to receive their contracted salary for that season. The IR designation is intended to protect players' earnings while they recover from injuries.

In contrast, players do not automatically lose their contracts because being on IR keeps them under the team's control. The condition for their contract is merely that they cannot participate in games, not that they forfeit the entire agreement. Additionally, contracts do not typically have terms that would automatically halve a player's salary if they cannot play, hence the option suggesting a salary reduction is not applicable.

While a player on IR cannot switch teams during the season, they remain with their current franchise, as the IR designation effectively locks them in and prohibits movement until the circumstances surrounding their injury change.