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Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporterDec 4, 2024, 07:40 PM ET
- Dan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels. You can follow Dan on Twitter via @DanGrazianoESPN.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to several important changes to the league’s drug policies that will go into effect this week.
The NFLPA sent a memo Wednesday to player agents announcing and explaining the changes. ESPN obtained a copy of the memo, which says the new policies will go into effect Friday.
The new policies include changes to testing procedures, fines and other discipline associated with violations of both the performance-enhancing drug policy and the policy on substances of abuse.
The level of THC required to trigger a positive cannabis test has been increased from 150 nanograms-per-milliliter to 350 ng/ml. Also, teams will no longer be informed of the specific substance of abuse for which a player tested positive, only of the positive result and the resulting discipline.
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Fines for violations of the policy on substances of abuse have been reduced. Under the old policy, a first positive test resulted in a fine of one-half of the player’s game check, a second in a fine of one whole game check, a third in a fine of two game checks and a fourth in a fine of three game checks. Now, a first positive test incurs a fine of $15,000, a second a fine of $20,000, a third a fine equivalent to one whole game check and a fourth a fine equivalent to two game checks.
Players were not tested for fentanyl under the old policy but now will be “if clinically indicated.” There will be no discipline for a positive fentanyl test, but a player will be fined $15,000 if he refuses to attend a mandatory meeting about fentanyl resulting from a positive test.
Fines for missed tests also have been reduced, and the procedure by which the league and the NFLPA determined the reason for a missed test has been altered to allow for greater leeway. Under the old policy, missed tests were cumulative and could result in escalating discipline throughout a player’s career. Under the new policy, a player’s missed test count will reset to zero once he goes 365 days without a missed test.
For the performance-enhancing drug policy, there have been several changes involving testing procedures and reinstatement. Under the old policy, a player suspended for a performance-enhancing drug violation could not be reinstated until he tested negative for the substance in question. Now, the player may be reinstated if it’s determined that the presence of the substance provides no performance-enhancing effect.
