Football players use smelling salts mainly to jolt themselves awake, sharpen focus, and feel “amped up” right before or during games, but the real performance boost is small and there are safety concerns, especially around concussions.

Why Do Football Players Use Smelling Salts?

Quick Scoop

Smelling salts are small capsules or bottles that release ammonia gas when cracked or opened. The sharp, burning scent irritates the nose and lungs, triggering a quick inhale and a brief spike in alertness.

For football players, especially in the NFL, this has turned into a sideline ritual you see on broadcasts: players crack a capsule, wave it under their nose, flinch hard, and then run onto the field.

What Smelling Salts Actually Do

When a player inhales smelling salts:

  • The ammonia irritates the lining of the nose and upper airways.
  • This irritation triggers a reflex inhale and activates the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight‑or‑flight” system).
  • Heart rate and breathing may increase briefly, and the person feels more alert, awake, and “wired.”

Originally, smelling salts were a medical tool used to revive people who fainted, not an everyday performance hack.

Why Football Players Like Them

In modern football, players use smelling salts for several reasons:

  1. Instant wake‑up jolt
    • Long games, cold weather, and fatigue can make players feel sluggish; a harsh sniff feels like a slap in the face and snaps them into game mode.
 * Some players say it “wakes you up,” “gets you locked in,” or “gets you ready to hit somebody.”
  1. Pre‑kickoff ritual and hype
    • Many players do it as part of their pre‑kickoff routine to get mentally and emotionally ready.
 * Cameras often catch star players sniffing salts right before big drives or special‑teams plays, turning it into a sort of macho sideline spectacle.
  1. Placebo and confidence boost
    • Studies and expert commentary suggest the physical performance benefit is limited; a lot of the effect is psychological.
 * Players feel like it gives them an edge, which can be enough to improve confidence and aggressiveness, even if it’s mostly placebo.
  1. Old habit from “toughness” culture
    • For decades, salts were used in football and boxing to perk up groggy athletes after hard hits.
 * Older players, like Terry Bradshaw, have described taking smelling salts after “getting their bell rung” and going right back onto the field.

Do Smelling Salts Actually Improve Performance?

The short version: they may briefly increase alertness, but they are not a magic performance enhancer.

  • Sports reporting and medical sources note that smelling salts likely provide little direct boost to strength, speed, or stamina.
  • The main effect is a fast, uncomfortable shock that makes you feel awake and keyed‑up for a moment.
  • Many players still swear by them in interviews, but that faith is often more tradition and ritual than proven science.

A good analogy: it’s closer to an intense cold splash of water to the face than to a true performance drug.

Risks and Why the NFL Stepped In

As smelling salts have become a visible sideline trend, safety concerns have grown, especially in the mid‑2020s.

Health and safety issues

  • Medical sources highlight that prolonged or repeated inhalation of strong ammonia can irritate the lungs and airways, and in extreme misuse could cause lasting damage.
  • The biggest concern in football: smelling salts may mask concussion symptoms or be used to push players back into play when they should be evaluated or resting.

Historically, in both boxing and football, they were used when a player was “dazed” or “got his bell rung” so he could go back out, which conflicts with modern concussion protocols.

Recent rule and policy changes

  • In 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that there was no strong evidence for the safety or effectiveness of these products and raised concerns about their use in sports.
  • In response, the NFL and other organizations tightened rules; by 2025 the league barred team staff from providing smelling salts or ammonia inhalants on the sideline, citing safety and the risk of masking concussion signs.
  • A later clarification allowed players to use them on their own, but teams and staff cannot stock or hand them out.

So even though the practice is still visible, there’s now a clear recognition that it’s not harmless hype and needs stricter control.

How Fans and Forums Are Talking About It

On sports forums and social media, smelling salts have become a trending talking point:

  • Fans share clips of players reacting dramatically to salts, treating it as a quirky, hardcore football ritual.
  • Others criticize the practice as outdated and unsafe, especially in light of mounting concern about brain injuries in football.
  • After the bans and memos in 2024–2025, posts and articles started to focus more on the conflict between old‑school “toughness” culture and modern sports medicine.

You’ll also see ex‑players in interviews and podcast clips explaining that the main appeal is the pre‑game adrenaline hit, not some secret performance hack.

Multi‑View: Are They Worth It?

Why players still use them

  • Quick jolt of alertness when games are long and intense.
  • Powerful psychological effect: feels like flipping the “on” switch before a big collision.
  • Tradition, superstition, and team culture keep the ritual alive.

Why doctors and leagues are wary

  • Risk of masking concussion symptoms and delaying proper evaluation.
  • Irritation and possible damage to the respiratory system with heavy use.
  • Lack of strong evidence of real performance benefits relative to the risks.

A balanced view in 2026: smelling salts are legal for players in many contexts, but they’re moving from “fun quirk” toward “medical red flag,” especially at the pro level.

Mini Example: A Typical Game-Day Use

Imagine a defensive linebacker on a cold November night:

  1. He’s been on the sideline for several minutes while the offense is on the field.
  2. Coach calls the defense back in; the player cracks a small capsule, holds it under his nose, and takes a quick sniff.
  3. His eyes water, his face contorts, and he takes a sharp breath; he feels a rush of focus and aggression.
  4. He runs out for the next series, convinced he’s more locked‑in—even if the real physical effect is short‑lived.

That mix of ritual, psychology, and a fast physiological “shock” is exactly why smelling salts have stuck around in football culture.

TL;DR:
Football players use smelling salts because the ammonia shock briefly boosts alertness and feeds into pre‑game hype and toughness culture, but science says the benefits are small and safety concerns—especially around concussions and respiratory irritation—have pushed the NFL and regulators to restrict how they’re provided and used.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.