When the NFL season gets underway, teams and players will have a revised concussion protocol to honor. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, this is largely in response to the mishandling of a concussion suffered by quarterback Case Keenum in 2015.
New concussion protocol, largely in response to last season's Case Keenum debacle: pic.twitter.com/s4nw4jiDgq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 25, 2016
There is really nothing to be surprised about here. Concussions have long been an issue in the NFL and have been at the forefront of the league’s attention for the better part of a decade.
Given how serious concussions are, the rules are going to continue to become more restrictive, especially when a situation being mishandled is fresh on everyone’s minds.
What remains to be seen is how much slack teams will get. Any time a team violates this, we can expect a fine.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio broke the tenuous fine schedule down for us:
“A first violation can trigger a fine of up to $150,000. If Goodell finds aggravating circumstances, the minimum fine will be $50,000. Subsequent violations will result in minimum fines of $100,000.”
How many fines will a team be subjected to before it loses draft picks? How long will it be until Roger Goodell’s “absolute discretion” is challenged?
These are the questions that have yet to be addressed, and they could trigger some interesting conversations in the coming year.