Sources: NFL warns players, teams about safety violations

With a new season underway, the NFL is warning specific players and teams that it will not hold back on suspensions.

The NFL recently sent a memo to more than 20 players and the teams that they play for, emphasizing the importance of safety and sportsmanship and warning them that they would face suspensions if there are any violations, league sources told ESPN.

The league believes this is an additional attempt to try to make the game safer, according to sources.

The players who received notice have been penalized and scrutinized in the past. The NFL declined to provide a list of which players were notified, but all the players have been suspended during the past two seasons for on-field infractions that the league will not tolerate this season.

Among the players suspended the past two seasons for on-field infractions are Buffalo Bills practice squad safety Kareem Jackson, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee, Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, and New England Patriots defensive tackle Trysten Hill.

Teams also were informed at the league meeting last month that the club remittance policy is back, effective immediately, according to sources. This means that teams will face fines for players who are suspended for safety violations, personal conduct policy issues and drug suspensions. The NFL halted its remittance policy during the COVID-19 pandemic but has reinstated it for the 2024 season.

“When a player receives league discipline for a Covered Infraction, the fine amount (or the amount of salary forfeited in the case of a suspension), up to a maximum of $75,000 per infraction, will be counted toward his club’s season total,” the league’s memo to teams said. “For the 2024 season, the Remittance Policy will be triggered when players on a club incur more than $90,000 in fines or suspensions. If that threshold is exceeded, the club will be required to remit an amount equal to the cumulative amount of fines for Covered Infractions incurred by its players.

“For example, if players on a club incur a total of $175,000 in fines/suspensions for Covered Infractions during the 2024 season, that club will be required to remit $175,000.”