Why Do NFL Players Love Smelling Salts? I Tried Some at Work to Find Out

Athletes do smelling salts all the time, and they operate at the highest physical level of anyone in modern society. So, I thought, why can’t I—a really solid youth baseball player, still in his athletic prime, now spending my days at a typing job—dabble in the ammonium game as well?

For context, earlier this month, the NFL announced that it would no longer be supplying its players with smelling salts—chemical compounds made of ammonium carbonate and sodium carbonate, commonly inhaled through the nose by athletes preparing for action—during games. This was a major shakeup. For years they were as prominent as Gatorade. In 2005, Michael Strahan told The Florida Times-Union that smelling salts were growing in popularity among players.

“I’ve used them for years, but I think their use is beginning to spread across football,” he said. “When I first started, not many other players were using them. Now, I would say 70 or 80 percent of the league does.”

It makes sense why they’ve become so popular. Inhaling ammonia makes the muscles that control your breathing work faster, and in turn, makes you much more alert. Putting some under your nose before stepping out for battle is a practice that goes back to at least World War 2, when the British medics kept smelling salts in their first aid kits.

Fast forward to earlier this month, when the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee recommended that the league cease providing smelling salts to players. Their decision came after a 2024 U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning about the potential side effects of inhaling ammonia, which include “the potential to mask certain neurologic signs and symptoms, including some potential signs of concussion.” It can also burn the mucus membranes in the nose and mouth, and heavy exposure to ammonia in gas form can be toxic or even fatal.

When the initial memo came from the league, many players prematurely mourned their beloved smelling salts, thinking they were completely banned forever.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David said in an interview with Kay Adams. “I’ve been distraught all day,” added San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle on NFL Network.