A great brouhaha prevailed earlier this week when the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams forbidding clubs from providing players with “ammonia in any form at NFL games.”
Hearing that their precious smelling salts wouldn’t be available to them during games sent players into a panic. However, a clarification of the policy obtained by the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) has players breathing much easier.
“We were not notified of this club policy change before the memo was sent out,” the union said in a message to its players on Wednesday night. “To clarify, this policy does not prohibit player use of these substances, but rather it restricts clubs from providing or supplying them in any form. The NFL has confirmed this to us.”
So, players will still be allowed to purchase and use their own smelling salts; only teams are prohibited from providing them. What’s the reason for the change? Why did the NFL stop its teams from providing ammonia?
According to ESPN, “The memo indicated the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee made the recommendation for the ban because the FDA issued a warning in 2024 about the negative effects of ammonia inhalants, including ‘the potential to mask certain neurologic signs and symptoms, including some potential signs of concussion.’”
So, the crisis is averted.
NFL players can inhale at will and at ease; they just need to inhale their own stuff.
