May 20, 2019: The NFL and NFL Players Association have unveiled two joint agreements that are intended to “support further resources directed to address pain management and behavioral health.”

In one, the NFL and NFLPA said they would work together to “address the challenges of pain management for our current players and work to advance and understand the science in this area to improve potential treatments.”

The second agreement “builds on the substantial player behavioral and mental health care resources available to NFL players with additional programs directed toward education, prevention and overall behavioral health throughout the league.”

The NFL and NFLPA said they would form a Joint Pain Management Committee including medical experts appointed by both the league and union.

The committee will “establish uniform standards for club practices and policies regarding pain management and the use of prescription medication by NFL players as well as conduct research concerning pain management and alternative therapies.”

The committee’s research will include cannabis, cannabinoids and CBD, Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, told NFL.com.

The Joint Committee will also receive periodic reports from a new Prescription Drug Monitoring Program that will monitor all prescriptions issued to NFL players by club physicians and unaffiliated physicians.

According to the league, prior to the start of the 2019 NFL season, each NFL club must appoint a Pain Management Specialist who “possesses certain agreed-upon credentials, including active engagement in pain management as part of his or her medical practice.”

The NFL and NFLPA will also form a Comprehensive Mental Health and Wellness Committee, which will develop educational programs for players, coaches, club personnel and players’ family members regarding mental health and wellness.

The committee will collaborate with local and national mental health and suicide prevention organizations to reduce stigma related to mental health and promote suicide prevention and awareness.

The NFL and NFLPA have formally mandated that each team retains a Behavioral Health Team Clinician “focused on supporting players’ emotional and mental health and well-being.”

The team clinician is required to be available to players at the team facility for at least 8-12 hours per week, and must, among other responsibilities, conduct mandatory mental health educational sessions for players and coaching staff.

The Clinician must also create and conduct team rehearsals of a Mental Health Emergency Action Plan to implement for the upcoming season.

This summer, the NFL and NFLPA said they would “convene sessions with head team physicians, head team internal medicine physicians, head athletic trainers, Behavioral Health Team Clinicians, Pain Management Specialists and others to discuss the requirements in both agreements, among other topics. Adherence to both agreements is mandatory across all clubs.”