Collective Bargaining Agreement News & Rumors

Roger Goodell: No CBA Talks Planned

May 24th, 2025 at 9:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

The current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2030, leaving plenty of time for negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA to take place on several issues. Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear when speaking at the recent owners meetings an effort to begin serious talks on the next CBA are not lined up.

“There are no formal plans on any discussions,” Goodell said (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio). “We obviously continue to be in close communication with the union on a variety of matters, but no start of negotiations have been set or are under consideration really at this point.”

Goodell has made no secret about the league’s key goals for the next CBA. Expansion to an 18-game regular season is among them, although the players association as expected is not looking to agree to that without significant concessions being made. Increasing the NFL’s international footprint is also high on the agenda. Staging as many as 16 regular season games outside the United States annually within the next five years was named as a target by Goodell this week.

Goodell said he and the owners spoke “at length” about two key matters. The first was the salary cap, and the second was the ongoing spike in costs with respect to owning and operating NFL franchises. The cap ceiling was $120.4MM when the 2011 CBA was signed; that figure stands at $279.2MM for the coming campaign. Further surges are expected in the near future once the newest round of media rights deals are agreed to.

With the cost of roster building continuing to increase and franchise values spiking, a number of teams have turned to private equity funds for an infusion of cash. Stakes of up to 10% in NFL teams recently became permissible, and a small list of equity firms are in position to take on a non-controlling share in franchises. It would come as no surprise if the trend of such transactions continued over the coming years.

In the meantime, owners will look into measures related to the salary cap and operating expenses (which will no doubt include, crucially, the share of revenue between the league and the PA). Goodell noted no discussions about expanding the schedule took place this week in Minneapolis, but that topic can be expected to remain a point of emphasis moving forward. When a strong push to open up CBA talks is made, it will be interesting to see how the NFLPA responds.

NFL Contract Notes: OL Award, Olympics, Rookie Bonuses, Collusion

May 24th, 2025 at 11:16am CST by Nikhil Mehta

MAY 24: Protector of the Year will be determined by a prestigious panel of former NFL offensive linemen based on the following five criteria (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe): “skills, metrics, impact, leadership, ability, and strength of the opponents.”

Whitworth, who helped developed the award, will be on the panel. It also includes Orlando Pace and Will Shields, who are already in the Hall of Fame, and Jason Kelce, who is all but certain to join them once he’s eligible. The last two members, LeCharles Bentley and Shaun O’Hara, are less legendary offensive linemen, but both earned at least two Pro Bowls in their career and have remained connected with the league since their retirement.

MAY 23: The NFL is creating a new end-of-year award for offensive linemen called Protector of the Year, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said that current Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and former Rams and Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth were key advocates for establishing the new honor.

Protector of the Year will be a welcome addition to the NFL’s annual awards season, which has largely focused on quarterbacks for Most Valuable Player and skill positions for Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. Offensive linemen typically have to settle for for Pro Bowl or All-Pro nods, as they almost never contend for the main awards slate despite their impact on the field.

It’s unclear if Protector of the Year will have any more value for its recipients than league-wide recognition. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement only allows specific awards to be used as player incentives in contracts, as noted by OverTheCap’s Nick Korte. The new award is not listed in the current CBA and could only be added if the NFLPA agrees.

Here is the latest news pertaining to contracts from around the league:

The NFLPA will also have to navigate player participation in flag football at the 2028 Olympics, which owners unanimously approved earlier this week. “We look forward to working with the league, IFAF, and Olympic authorities on the terms of their participation to ensure players who compete will do so with protections to their health, safety, and job,” said NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell in a statement (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio). Those protections will be central to negotiations between the league and its players, who want to play in the Olympics without losing the financial security of their contracts.
NFL rookies are receiving significantly larger signing bonuses in 2025 compared to previous years, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry. For example, No. 3 pick Abdul Carter received a $29.5MM signing bonus from the Giants, more than Caleb Williams got from the Bears as the first overall pick last year. Fourth and fifth overall picks Will Campbell and Mason Graham are also expected to surpass Williams’ signing bonus when they put pen to paper on their first pro contracts. The league’s undrafted rookie reservation – each team’s pool of signing bonus money for UDFAs – went up to $206K this year, a more-than 25% increase from 2024, per Corry. Teams have rarely used up all of their UDFA bonus money, instead preferring to guarantee base salary with offsets if a player is waived and signed by another team, according to OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald.
The NFLPA’s collusion grievance against the NFL regarding fully-guaranteed contracts for quarterbacks has been resolved, according to Florio. An arbitrator found that the league “encouraged teams not to do guaranteed contracts,” but that did not result in a significant impact on players – namely, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, and Kyler Murray. In short, the ruling indicates that the NFL did engage in collusion to avoid fully-guaranteed contracts, but those efforts did not hurt players enough to trigger damages.

Serious Discussions On 18-Game Schedule Yet To Begin; 2027 Implementation Possible

April 5th, 2025 at 4:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

In the lead-in to the recent league meetings, it was reported talks on expanding the NFL schedule to 18 regular season games would likely be a topic of serious discussion. That did not prove to be the case, but the universal expectation remains that adding one regular season contest is a goal the league will accomplish soon.

“I would say that there’s a lot of talk about it,” Cowboys owner (and strong proponent of an 18-game slate) Jerry Jones said (via Mark Maske of the Washington Post). “But certainly it’s in the future…. But it wasn’t really a main topic [at this year’s league meetings].”

The league is expected to ramp up efforts on working out an arrangement to implement an 18-game schedule this offseason. Any agreement on that front needs to be collectively bargained, and the current CBA runs through the 2030 campaign. A deal could be reached well before that point, though, and it would come as no surprise if negotiations with the NFLPA picked up with a more firm target in place.

On that point, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports the 2027 season is viewed as the earliest point at which an 18-game schedule could be instituted. That falls in line with previous indications regarding schedule expansion, as well as the views of many other observers. The date for each of the next two Super Bowls is already locked in, but that is not the case for the one which will conclude the 2027 season. Finalizing the details for Super Bowl LXII could very well wait until a new scheduling agreement is in place. The timing of new media rights agreements (which could be re-negotiated after the 2029 campaign) also looms as a factor in this situation.

The possibility of removing one exhibition contest and adding a second bye week to the season has been raised as part of the discussion on scheduling changes. Doing each of those – along with starting the year on Labor Day weekend – would line up the Super Bowl on Presidents Day, something commissioner Roger Goodell has spoken in favor of. In addition to adding a bye week (something viewed as “non-negotiable” from its perspective), the union has been linked to seeking concessions on issues like compensation, travel and roster size to get finalize an agreement.

NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell initially struck a tone suggesting he would be open to discussing an expanded schedule, although more recently he has publicly confirmed there is no appetite for the move amongst players. In spite of that, Jones’ report (which notes no formal presentation was made to owners about a revised schedule) states the matter of 18 games was treated as “a fait accompli” at the league meetings. Alterations to the offseason setup, including a shortened or removed voluntary workout program and a longer training camp period, could accompany a new schedule format.

Jones adds that tanking remains a potential concern for the NFL. Lengthening the season would open the door to additional games amongst teams eyeing the coming draft more than a competitive end to the campaign. That factor has informed matters like the hesitation to move back the trade deadline, one of many matters which could be subject to change in the event an 18-game schedule were to come into existence. While nothing is imminent on that front, 2027 represents a logical timeframe for all parties involved to keep in mind.

NFL Owners Expected To Discuss 18-Game Schedule During March League Meeting

March 28th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

This Sunday will mark the beginning of the next league meeting. As always, several topics will be discussed, and it would not come as a surprise if increased discussion about an 18-game regular season took place.

Expanding the season once again has long been a target for the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell. His most recent comments on the matter confirmed a shift to two preseason contests and 18 in the regular season remains the goal, and the matter figures to be a central aspect of negotiations before the current CBA (which runs through the 2030 season) expires. Serious talks have not yet taken place, but that could soon change.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports an expectation exists Goodell and the owners will “make more assertive efforts” to work out an 18-game arrangement this summer. That process is viewed by at least two team executives as being likely to include discussions taking place at the upcoming league meeting. Positive momentum over the coming days would not make an agreement imminent, of course, but it would point further to an expanded schedule being on the horizon.

“Everyone understands consensus-building time is coming for both [the league and NFLPA],” an NFL executive said (via Robinson). “It’s going to take time to get to [negotiations] opening a CBA and rolling up sleeves on whatever gets put onto the table. It might take a year or two, but you really can’t do that without a broader conversation [amongst owners]. I think that starts to get some momentum [this week] in Florida.”

Expanding the regular season from 16 games to 17 was a central element of the 2020 CBA, and even then it was widely assumed a jump to 18 would be in store. Lloyd Howell initially expressed an openness on the part of the Players Association to entertain discussions on the matter – in particular, the concessions which would be required by the NFL to make an agreement feasible. Last month, however, Howell made it clear there is no desire amongst the players to expand the schedule once again.

Robinson adds the issue of revenue distribution between the NFL and NFLPA is likely to be a central one. At present, the players receive 48% of football-related revenue with a maximum of 48.8% possible based on money brought in from the league’s media rights deals. A move to a 50-50 split is believed to be a top union goal, he adds. Other matters such as the inclusion of a second bye week, along with roster and travel concerns are also set to be talking points.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post confirms formal negotiations on this front have not started yet. He adds, however, that talks (beyond the informal ones which have already occurred) are expected to take place soon. Clarity with respect to the owners’ plans on the matter of an 18-game schedule could represent a key first step to an agreement being reached.

2025 NFL Franchise/Transition Tags

February 28th, 2025 at 6:10pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The NFL has officially set the 2025 salary cap at $279.2MM, a figure that will shape teams’ financial plans as they navigate the offseason.

The salary cap doesn’t just dictate how much money teams can spend; it also factors into the calculation of franchise and transition tags. For more than three decades, teams have been able to use a franchise or transition tag on one player during the offseason to retain them on a one-year deal. The value of the franchise tag is based on the top five salaries at each position, while the transition tag is calculated using the top 10 salaries at each position.

Teams have already been able to tag players since February 18, but now they know exactly how much that decision will cost. The Chiefs, for example, moved forward with placing the non-exclusive franchise tag on Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith. That will cost them $23.4MM this year, though the two sides are expected to continue negotiations on a long-term extension.

Other teams who were considering tags – including the Vikings with Sam Darnold and the Dolphins with Jevon Holland – will now have exact numbers to work with. Here are those figures for the non-exclusive franchise tag (via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero):

Quarterback: $40.24MM
Running back: $13.64MM
Wide receiver: $23.96MM
Tight end: $13.83MM
Offensive line: $23.4MM
Defensive end: $22.06MM
Defensive tackle: $25.12MM
Linebacker: $25.45MM
Cornerback: $20.19MM
Safety: $18.6MM
Kicker/punter: $6.31MM

However, the new tag figures will not apply to players who were tagged last season, like the Bengals’ Tee Higgins. Those players can be tagged for 120% of last year’s salary. The Bengals are expected to use a second tag on Higgins, which would pay him $26.2MM in 2025. The rest of 2024’s tagged players all signed long-term extensions, making them ineligible for a tag this year.

Teams rarely use the exclusive franchise tag, which costs more than the non-exclusive tag as it prevents players from negotiating with other teams. The non-exclusive tag is more frequently used, which allows players to negotiate and sign offer sheets with other teams. The player’s previous team can then match that offer sheet to retain the player or decline to match and receive two first-round picks from the player’s new team. That process rarely plays out in full; instead, franchise tags typically lead to players signing long-term extensions with the team that tagged them.

The transition tag is similar to the non-exclusive tag in that it allows players to negotiate and sign offer sheets with other teams. The previous team maintains the right to match such offer sheets, but if they decline, they are not entitled to any draft pick compensation.

Here are the 2025 transition tag numbers:

Quarterback: $35.38MM
Running back: $11.07MM
Wide receiver: $21.44MM
Tight end: $11.71MM
Offensive line: $21.27MM
Defensive end: $19.87MM
Defensive tackle: $20.85MM
Linebacker: $20.86MM
Cornerback: $17.6MM
Safety: $15.03MM
Kicker/punter: $5.73MM

It’s worth noting that the NFL maintains two archaic positional designations in its calculations for franchise and transition tags (as well as fifth-year options.) All offensive linemen are grouped together, rather than separating centers, guards, and tackles. All linebackers also fall under one category, meaning that inside linebackers fall under the same category as outside linebackers, even those who are primarily edge rushers. These distinctions have made it difficult for teams to tag interior offensive linemen and inside linebackers due to the significantly larger salaries of offensive tackles and edge rushers, though the Chiefs didn’t let it stop them this year.

2026 Fifth-Year Option Salaries Unveiled

February 28th, 2025 at 2:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Yesterday, the league informed teams of the 2025 salary cap ceiling ($279.2MM). Now, clarity has emerged regarding the fifth-year options for members of the 2022 draft class.

All teams will need to decide by May 2 to pick up or decline the 2026 option on players selected in the first round of that year. For the fifth year in a row, option values will be broken into tiers based on playing time and performance. Since the 2020 CBA, option years have been guaranteed in full.

The top tier consists of players who have been selected to two or more Pro Bowls (on the initial ballot) during the early stages of their careers. These figures also match the 2025 franchise tag values. Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, here is the position-by-position breakdown at that level:

Quarterback: $40.24MM
Running back: $13.64MM
Wide receiver: $23.96MM
Tight end: $13.83MM
Offensive line: $20.99MM
Defensive end: $23.4MM
Defensive tackle: $25.12MM
Linebacker: $25.45MM
Cornerback: $20.19MM
Safety: $18.6MM
Kicker/punter: $6.31MM

The second tier applies to players who have one Pro Bowl on their resume and matches the value of 2025 transition tags. Here is how that groups shakes out financially:

Quarterback: $35.38MM
Running back: $11.07MM
Wide receiver: $21.44MM
Tight end: $11.71MM
Offensive line: $21.27MM
Defensive end: $19.87MM
Defensive tackle: $20.85MM
Linebacker: $20.86MM
Cornerback: $17.6MM
Safety: $15.03MM
Kicker/punter: $5.73MM

Tier 3 consists of players who played at least 75% in two of their first three seasons, those who averaged at least a 75% snap share through three seasons or those who crossed the 50% snap barrier in each of their initial three campaigns. Those positions are broken down as such:

Quarterback: $25.38MM
Running back: $7.33MM
Wide receiver: $16.82MM
Tight end: $8.5MM
Offensive line: $17.56MM
Defensive end: $15.12MM
Defensive tackle: $14.37MM
Linebacker: $14.75MM
Cornerback: $13.63MM
Safety: $10.23MM
Kicker/punter: $4.6MM

The fourth and final tier applies to players without a Pro Bowl nod and who do not meet the playing time criteria:

Quarterback: $22.12MM
Running back: $6.58MM
Wide receiver: $15.49MM
Tight end: $7.71MM
Offensive line: $16.69MM
Defensive end: $13.92MM
Defensive tackle: $12.94MM
Linebacker: $13.41MM
Cornerback: $12.68MM
Safety: $9.27MM
Kicker/punter: $4.29MM

2025 Salary Cap To Land Beyond $277MM

February 19th, 2025 at 12:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

The latest salary cap projection arrived in December, hinting at a modest increase. As it turns out, that update undersold where the NFL’s 2025 salary ceiling will check in.

That projection pointed to the 2025 cap falling between $265-$275MM, but ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano indicates a boom beyond $280MM is now in play. The NFL has informed teams it will instead land between $277.5MM and $281.5MM. Anywhere in this range will mark at least a $22MM increase from 2024 ($255.4MM). Until Wednesday, teams had been operating on a prediction the cap would land between $272-$275MM, CBS Sports Jonathan Jones adds.

This greater-than-expected increase will not break the record 2024’s cap set, but it be a welcome sight after the rumor that had indicated a lesser jump would take place. Teams suddenly will have a few extra million to throw around in free agency and to allocate toward extensions. This will also mark a massive jump from where the cap was just four years ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic leading to fanless stadiums (in some cities) and heavily capped attendance (in others) in 2020 led to the 2021 cap dropping to $182.5MM. Four years later, the cap will have risen by nearly $100MM.

This continues a stream of growth, a trend that did not develop during the 2011 CBA, which featured stagnancy it its early years before roughly $10MM-per-year climbs as the decade progressed. A 2020 CBA that has included two additional playoff games, a 17th regular-season contest, new TV deals and increased gambling partnerships has seen cap spikes by more than $16MM each year since the pandemic-induced decrease of 2021 and by at least $20MM three times since then.

Last year’s record-setting jump ($30.6MM) could have featured a bigger spike, as the league’s memo (via The Athletic’s Dianna Russini) indicates a smoothing effort took place to produce a more gradual climb rather than have a near-$40MM bump in 2024 and a far lesser surge this year. Roughly $1MM of this year’s bump will also come via performance-based pay.

The 2024 increase brought new position-record contracts at many positions. Chris Jones eclipsed the salary ceiling Aaron Donald‘s then-outlier contract had set for defensive tackles, while Chiefs teammate Creed Humphrey is more than $4MM clear (AAV-wise) than any other center. The guard market saw Landon Dickerson check in with a new record ($21MM per year) just before the 2024 league year opened, while both Patrick Surtain and Jalen Ramsey agreed to deals that broke the cornerback record by a substantial margin. Christian McCaffrey later broke his own RB AAV record by securing a two-year, $38MM extension last summer, and the tackle market included Tristan Wirfs and Penei Sewell establishing new position records.

The two highest-profile positional spikes came at quarterback and wide receiver, respectively. The $30MM-AAV WR club expanded from one to six, with Justin Jefferson‘s $35MM-per-year contract the new standard. After the $50MM-per-year QB club added several new members, Dak Prescott used unique leverage to secure a $60MM-AAV extension hours before the Cowboys’ Week 1 game. While another quarterback topping that this year may be unlikely — barring true Bills-Josh Allen renegotiations transpiring — position records elsewhere (likely headlined by Ja’Marr Chase at receiver and a few edge rusher extension pursuits) are likely thanks in part to Wednesday’s news of better-than-expected cap growth.

Here is how the cap has looked over the past two CBAs:

2011: $120.4MM
2012: $120.6MM
2013: $123.6MM
2014: $133MM
2015: $143.3MM
2016: $155.3MM
2017: $167MM
2018: $177.2MM
2019: $188.2MM
2020: $198.2MM
2021: $182.5MM
2022: $208.2MM
2023: $224.8MM
2024: $255.4MM

18-Game Regular Season On Horizon Within 2-3 Years?

February 3rd, 2025 at 3:30pm CST by Ben Levine

FEBRUARY 2: Although the NFL schedule may well chance twice during the 2020s, Goodell said Monday (via Bovada’s Josina Anderson) no formal discussions have taken place on a move to 18 yet. It appears a near-certainty those will happen in the not-too-distant future, as the NFLPA will have a major bargaining chip to use in an effort to land concessions from the league in exchange for the extra game.

FEBRUARY 1: An 18-game regular season may be on the horizon. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, the NFL and NFLPA recently discussed the potential schedule adjustment.

This comes on the heels of a recent Roger Goodell interview. The commissioner cited the NFL’s continued “focus on the safety” aspect of the game as a stepping stone for a potential 18-game season. Goodell continued to point to the league’s “20-game framework” and the understanding that an added regular season contest would only come at the expense of a preseason exhibition.

As Florio notes, the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement lasts through the 2030 season, and it’s believed an 18-game schedule could be apart of the next CBA. When the two sides last agreed on a new CBA in 2020, they expanded the regular-season schedule to 17 games.

Florio believes “it’s possible (if not likely)” that the NFL and the NFLPA are currently refining details for an 18-game schedule, and their recent discussion indicates that the change could be coming sooner than later. Mark Maske of The Washington Post cautions that an agreement is not imminent, although he adds that NFL owners remain hopeful that the NFLPA will agree to expand the regular-season slate. If the two sides continue to move in the right direction, some owners believe the change could be implemented in the “next two to three years.”

There have been previous rumblings of an 18-game campaign, and NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell already hinted at some possible concessions surrounding the addition of an 18th game. While overall compensation is the obvious one, other points of negotiation would include additional bye weeks, improved playing surfaces, and decreased travel.

While these concessions represent some possible hurdles during negotiations, it seems the two sides are at least heading towards an eventual solution. While an 18-game schedule was once discussed as possible, it’s seeming more and more likely that an 18-game schedule is truly inevitable.

Roger Goodell Aiming For 18-Game Schedule, 16 International Games

January 17th, 2025 at 10:52pm CST by Ely Allen

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently sat down to do an interview on Bloomberg TV for The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations. In the interview, Goodell touched on a number of recent topics including the league’s goals for an 18-game season and a 16-game slate of international games in a season.

Goodell approached the answer to a question about the 18-game season by claiming that “if (they) continue to focus on the safety” aspect of the game that 18 games could be the potential result. It’s a contradictory notion that Goodell attempts to justify with the suggestion of removing another preseason game to maintain “that 20-game framework.”

The idea that replacing a preseason game with a regular game is a simple solution disregards many issues that come along with it. In regard to safety, increased games results in increased stress to the body and a higher likelihood for injury. Especially when considering that preseason games hardly see extended time from main starting players, replacing preseason games for regular-season games is not a one-for-one return in regard to safety.

Additionally, coaches and player personnel staff utilize preseason games to help whittle the roster down to the eventual 53 players who will open the season on the team. Continuing to reduce the number of preseason games robs a large number of fringe players of playing opportunities to show that they deserve a roster spot, potentially diminishing the quality of play in the league by denying diamonds in the rough a chance to shine.

The only seeming benefit that would result from the extension of the season is that every player would receive an extra game check, increasing the value of their contracts. In reality, the benefit goes to team owners and the league, who will all see a revenue increase from replacing poor-performing preseason games with higher-stakes regular-season contests. With no risk to their own health and safety, the support of an 18-game season has been a no-brainer for the elite in league circles.

NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell, after going over superficial discussions with the NFL about the possibility of an 18-game season, spoke this past summer about concessions the players could seek in return for adding an 18th game. While overall compensation is the obvious one, other points of negotiation would include additional bye weeks, improved playing surfaces, and decreased travel, a contentious issue with the NFL’s insistence on expanding the game internationally. Not surprisingly, these are all health concerns for issues that could be further strained by an extension to the season.

While Goodell claims they would only move forward “with the players” on this decision, he calls it the “logical” next step. The situation feels like an inevitable transition from which the players will simply need to try to get whatever concessions they can.

On the topic of the international slate, Goodell confirmed recently mentioned plans to expand to 16 out-of-country games in a season. He has quickly pushed the slate from five such contests in 2024 to a confirmed eight in 2025. Increasing the number of games in a regular season to 18 would, in theory, make it easier to schedule 16 international games, but if the NFLPA decides to push back on the amount of travel in return for increasing the season, the league’s two goals could be working against each other.

Goodell did push back a bit on the possibility of expanding the league or relocating a team to an international site, though. While he does believe there are markets internationally that could sustain an NFL franchise, he cited issues with travel and competitiveness as hurdles in the execution. The notion a European franchise could spawn — or an American team could relocate — has not generated as much buzz over the past several years. Goodell’s latest remarks continue that trend.

He did project an idea that moving a division would make more sense than moving a single team. This solution would see three road games each year come with relatively short travel for those international teams, assuming they’re all in a close area like Europe. The remaining five or six road games would still require extensive travel, as would the travel for any teams visiting them. This would especially be an issue for any team whose schedule includes all four teams from the international division, requiring either two separate trips or one, long overseas trip to play those games.

The terms of the active collective bargaining agreement for the players are currently in place until 2030. Given the league’s quick work on the international slate, the owners’ eagerness to once again expand the NFL schedule, and Howell’s willingness to engage in early dialogue, it feels like a push for change is coming much sooner than that. Money talks, and if the NFL can alleviate the players’ concerns with promises of concessions, we may be watching a new-look season very soon.

NFL Relaxes Policies On Substance Abuse, Performance-Enhancing Drugs

December 5th, 2024 at 6:46pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The NFL has reached an agreement with the NFLPA to make several changes to the league’s policies regarding substance abuse and performance-enhancing substances, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson and CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

Modifications regarding banned non-performance-enhancing substances – termed substances of abuse – are more lenient and forgiving. For example, a positive THC test now requires 350ng/ml, more than double the previous amount of 150ng/ml.

When players test positive for a banned non-performance-enhancing substance, teams will no longer be notified which substance was detected. They will only be informed of the violation and the resulting punishment.

The scale of fines has also been reduced and restructured. Under the previous policy, fines were proportional to game paychecks, with half-game, whole-game, and two-game penalties for first, second, and third violations. Now, a first violation will result in a $15K fine, followed by $20k for a second violation and one game check for a third.

For performance-enhancing substances, new changes relate to testing time and reinstatement. Previously, players had to test within three hours of notification; now, if notified before team activities in the morning, they have to test before afternoon activities.

Suspended players no longer have to test negative for the performance-enhancing substance before reinstatement. Now, they can be reinstated as long as “the presence of a substance(s) provides no performance enhancing effect,” per an NFLPA memo.

For both substances of abuse and performance-enhancing substances, missed tests count as a violation with the same increase in penalties. However, missed tests will now reset to zero if a player goes a full year without missing a test. Additionally, players who record the testing process and post it on social media will be subject to a $15K fine.

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