For the last several months, the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) have worked together to update the league’s on-field accountability system. Clubs were briefed on the changes at today’s league meeting in Atlanta, while player leadership was briefed and voted on the changes at a Board of Player Representatives meeting on Tuesday.
The goal is simple: make the game safer by focusing discipline on the techniques most likely to result in player injury rather than players who make isolated mistakes during competition.
Beginning this season, we will place greater emphasis on five player health and safety rules violations:
- Hip Drop Tackle
- Horse Collar Tackle
- Launching
- Hit on a Defenseless Player
- Blindside Block
Players who commit three offenses in any of these categories during a season will be suspended for one game. Players who commit only one violation will receive 50 percent of their fine back at the end of the season.
While violations in these categories will carry forward to subsequent seasons, all players will begin 2026 with a clean slate. Players will also have a clearer and faster path to reducing the impact of prior offenses than under the previous system.
To support shared accountability, coaches will be required to join players in meetings with the NFL for players approaching the suspension threshold. Clubs with excessive health and safety rules violations will also face increased financial penalties. The NFL and NFLPA will also include a former coach, Ron Rivera, who also played nine seasons in the NFL, to the pool of former players who oversee the on-field discipline appeal hearings.
In addition, players who commit a single offense in eligible categories will now have the entire amount of that fine returned to them at the end of the season.
This approach distinguishes between isolated mistakes and repeated conduct that jeopardizes the health and safety of players.
Player safety is a shared responsibility. These changes focus on the techniques that create the greatest risk while ensuring player, coach, and club accountability. Together, we believe this approach will continue to make the game safer for all players.
