Banned substances policy

The NFL banned substances policy has been acclaimed by some ^[33] and criticized by others^[34], but the policy is the longest running in professional sports, beginning in 1987. ^[33] The current policy of the NFL suspends players without pay who test positive for banned substances as it has since 1989: four games for the first offense (a quarter of the regular season), eight games for a second offense (half of the regular season), and 12 months for a third offense.^[35] The suspended games may be either regular season games or playoff games. ^[35]

In comparison to the policies of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, the NFL has long been the most strict. While recently MLB and the NHL decided to permanently ban athletes for a third offense, they have long been resistant to such measures, and random testing is in its infancy. ^[36][37]

Since the NFL started random, year-round tests and suspending players for banned substances, many more players have been found to be in violation of the policy. By April 2005, 111 NFL players had tested positive for banned substances, and of those 111, the NFL suspended 54.^[34]

A new rule has been put into effect due to Shawne Merriman. Starting the 2007–2008 season, the new rule prohibits any player testing positive for banned substances from being able to play in the Pro Bowl that year.^{[citation needed]}

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