The NFL has banned the use of smelling salts and other ammonia inhalants during games, citing safety concerns and the potential to mask concussion symptoms. George Kittle seems hardest hit.
The decision was detailed in a league-wide memo sent to all 32 teams on Tuesday, following a 2024 FDA warning about the lack of evidence supporting the safety or efficacy of ammonia inhalants for boosting mental alertness or energy.
Teams are prohibited from “providing or supplying ammonia in any form,” ESPN reports, having obtained a copy of the memo, which “includes ammonia capsules, inhalers, ammonia in a cup and any form of smelling salts.”
The ban extends beyond game time, including any activity such as halftime or pregame in the locker room or on the sideline.
Kittle crashed the set of teammate Fred Warner’s interview on NFL Network Tuesday afternoon, and you’d have thought somebody stole his pet cat.
@nypostsports George Kittle wants his smelling salts back, Roger Goodell!
♬ original sound – New York Post Sports
George Kittle Loves Him Some Smelling Salts
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle publicly expressed his frustration with the ban during an NFL Network interview, jokingly stating he considered retirement because he uses smelling salts before every offensive drive.
Every drive. Honestly, bro, that can’t be good for you. Have any of our readers actually had to inhale smelling salts before? It’s brutal.
“I honestly just came up here to air a grievance,” Kittle said. “Our team got a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I’ve been distraught all day.”
The six-time Pro Bowler lamented that he misses the smelling salts already.
“I considered retirement,” he quipped. “We have got to figure out a middle ground here, guys. Somebody help me out. Somebody come up with a good idea.”
“That’s all I had to get out there. Get that off my chest,” he said, leaving the set.
An Elite Tight End
Perhaps George Kittle should have given his former teammate De’Vondre Campbell some smelling salts during his career-ending in-game move last season.
In one of the most bizarre incidents we’ve seen in the NFL in years, former 49ers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell straight up left a Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Because he didn’t want to play, apparently.
Campbell’s actions were not looked upon very favorably by his teammates, including Kittle.
“I’ve never been around anybody that’s done that, and I hope I’m never around anyone that does that again,” Kittle said after the game.
Wish granted. Campbell is gone.
Since being drafted in the fifth round in 2017, George Kittle has become one of the NFL’s elite, earning six Pro Bowl selections, two First-Team All-Pro honors, and setting a franchise record in a single season for receptions (88) and receiving yards (1,377) by a tight end.
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