Smelling salts aren’t going anywhere.
After it was reported Tuesday that the NFL was banning salts ahead of the 2025-26 season, the NFL Players Association offered some additional clarification on the rule change, which will surely please the players.
The ban was actually placed only on teams supplying the salts, but players will be allowed to use the salts if they provide them themselves.
“We were not notified of this club policy change before the memo was sent out,” the NFLPA said in a message to players, according to an ESPN report on Wednesday. “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.”
The league’s original memo in which it announced the new prohibition of ammonia, which the salts contain, noted that the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee made the recommendation for the ban based on the FDA’s warning in 2024 about the negative effects of ammonia inhalants.
The FDA’s warning included “the potential to mask certain neurologic signs and symptoms, including some potential signs of concussion.”
Smelling salts have long been used across numerous different sports as a stimulant for athletes, raising their awareness.
The clarification on the new rule saved many players from a world of disappointment.
This includes 49ers tight end George Kittle, who crashed the set of NFL Network’s “Inside Training Camp” on Tuesday when he heard the original news.
“I’ve been distraught all day,” Kittle said jokingly. “I considered retirement. We’ve got to figure out a middle ground here, guys. Somebody help me out, somebody come up with a good idea.
“I miss those already.”
