The NFL‘s attempt to curb the use of smelling salts has barely made a dent inside locker rooms, and nowhere is that more evident than in San Francisco.
During training camp, the league told teams they could no longer supply the inhalants to players, citing concerns raised by medical advisers and an FDA warning about the safety of ammonia inhalants.
What the league could not do, however, was ban players outright from using them. That move would require NFLPA approval, which has not happened.
The result is what many expected: players continue using smelling salts, only now they bring their own.
Tight end George Kittle has become the most visible face of the resistance, even joking that he “considered retirement” when he learned that teams would no longer stock them.
Kittle, who has used smelling salts throughout his career, typically rips one before each offensive possession to sharpen his focus. He told the San Francisco Chronicle that more than half of the 49ers roster “use them most of the time,” even with the league stepping away from distributing them.
During the preseason, Kittle found himself unexpectedly playing the role of team supplier. His teammates quickly wiped out his stash, forcing him to rethink his entire approach.
“During the preseason games, I was the only one who was taking initiative, and the D-line completely wiped me out in back-to-back games,” Kittle told Eric Branch of the Chronicle. His solution was pure Kittle. He planned to dump the contents of an “old-school” cheese ball bucket and refill it with enough smelling salts to last the season.
Players stick with what they know
While Kittle‘s humor makes the situation sound lighthearted, the widespread use of smelling salts is not unique to San Francisco. Athletes across the league turn to ammonia packets as a pre snap jolt, a ritual that predates modern sports medicine. For some, it is tradition woven into their game day routine.
49ers guard Nick Zakelj told the Chronicle he has used smelling salts since high school. “It’s a meathead thing: Like, let me get juiced up before I go out there,” Zakelj said. For players like him, the league’s shift in policy simply means they buy their own.
The change originated after the NFL reviewed sideline protocols. According to the Chronicle’s reporting, the Head, Neck, and Spine Committee recommended halting team distribution of ammonia packets following an incident last season in which Bills quarterback Josh Allen received one from a staffer as he exited the medical tent after being evaluated for a concussion against the Texans.
The new directive was designed to prevent staff from handing players anything that could cloud medical assessments or be viewed as an attempt to rouse a player too quickly.
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