The NFL is constantly tweaking or changing its rules and it appears the league has another new ban set to be implemented. That is, according to San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle .
According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Kittle crashed a TV set to inform Garafolo and his panel that the league had just banned smelling salts and ammonia packets today. Kittle told the crew he uses them every drive.
“I considered retirement,” Kittle said. “We have to figure out a middle ground.”
The use of smelling salts has proliferated in the NFL over the years, but it hasn’t happened without pushback. ESPN published a lengthy piece on the practice in the NFL back in 2017 and there were some interesting tidbits.
First, it’s not entirely clear that the smelling salts or ammonia packets really provide much tangible benefit. A fellow for the American College of Sports Medicine, Dr. Joseph Estwanik , commented on their use in the ESPN piece.