NFL Suspends Three Players for Violating NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 Protocols

Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards and John Franklin III Ineligible to Play the Next Three Games 

The National Football League announced today discipline of three players for violating jointly developed and administered NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols.

Tampa Bay’s Antonio Brown and Mike Edwards have each been suspended without pay for the next three games. Free agent John Franklin III, if signed by a club, is also ineligible to play in the next three games. All three players have accepted the discipline and waived their right of appeal. The suspensions are effective immediately.

The NFLPA represented the three players during a joint NFL-NFLPA review into the recent allegations that players misrepresented their vaccination status under the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 Protocols.  That review supported those allegations and found that the three players violated the protocols.

The NFL and NFLPA said in a joint statement: “The health and safety of players and personnel is our top priority. The protocols were jointly developed working with our respective experts to ensure that we are practicing and playing football as safely as possible during the ongoing pandemic. The NFL-NFLPA jointly reinforce their commitment and further emphasize the importance of strict adherence to the protocols to protect the well-being of everyone associated with the NFL.”