George Kittle Jokes That He ‘Considered Retirement’ Due to Recent NFL Rule Change

Players will not be able to use smelling salts or ammonia packets in the coming NFL season.

Few players are more committed to their smelling salts than George Kittle. / D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

George Kittle decided to crash the set of an NFL Network interview with teammate Fred Warner at 49ers training camp on Tuesday to break a bit of news.

Grabbing a microphone, Kittle said he had a grievance he needed to get out over the airwaves.

“Our team got a memo today that smelling salts and ammonia packets were made illegal in the NFL, and I’ve been distraught all day,” Kittle said. “I considered retirement. We gotta figure a middle ground here guys. Somebody help me out. Somebody come up with a good idea.”

Kittle added that he usually uses smelling salts before every drive of the game. “I miss them already,” he said.

George Kittle crashed the NFL Network set to drop the news that the league banned smelling salts and ammonia packets today — and he admits he uses them every single drive. pic.twitter.com/1orx0wzhOa

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 5, 2025

Reporter Mike Garafolo later shared the text of the memo that was sent out, in which the NFL cited concerns that smelling salts and ammonia packets could in some cases mask the symptoms of concussions, and thus had been banned across the league for players and coaches alike including during pregame activities and in the locker room at halftime.

Kittle just signed a massive extension that made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, so there’s no chance he was retiring over some smelling salts, but still, it’s clear that he’s hoping for some sort of compromise to be figured out in the final days leading up to the start of the season.

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