With 2026 CBA Talks Looming, NFL Likely to Revisit Marijuana Testing Standards
The NFL is heading toward another high-stakes round of labor talks, and cannabis testing is expected to be back on the negotiating agenda. Formal collective bargaining between the league and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is not likely to begin until at least early 2026. But with most U.S. states now allowing medical cannabis and nearly half permitting adult-use sales, pressure is mounting on the league to revisit how it handles marijuana. Advocates say the next round of talks offers a rare chance to modernize the policy.
The policy has already shifted sharply. Under the 2020 CBA, the NFL eliminated suspensions for positive THC tests, narrowed the testing window to the first two weeks of training camp, and raised the threshold for a positive from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter. In December 2024, the NFL and NFLPA went further, boosting that threshold to 350 ng/mL and turning most violations into flat fines instead of game-check penalties. At the same time, the league has begun funding scientific research. Since 2021, the NFL and NFLPA have jointly committed more than $1.5 million to independent studies on cannabinoids and alternative pain management, including CBD’s potential role in treating pain and concussion symptoms. Yet marijuana remains on the list of prohibited substances. Players who test above the THC threshold during the narrow testing window are placed into the Substances of Abuse intervention program and can face escalating financial penalties. That uneasy balance—reduced punishment but ongoing prohibition—is one reason many observers expect cannabis testing rules to surface quickly once broader 2026 talks begin.
Several forces are likely to push the issue forward. The legal landscape has moved rapidly, with medical cannabis now legal in at least 40 states and recreational use allowed in 24, covering a majority of NFL markets. Players have also become more outspoken. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has estimated that “50 to 80 percent” of players use cannabis and described how easily most navigate the current testing window, underscoring the gap between written rules and locker-room reality. Former players, including Ricky Williams and Adam “Pacman” Jones, have publicly discussed extensive marijuana use and efforts to evade tests under older policies.
The structure of the next negotiations could elevate the stakes. Owners are expected to push again for an 18-game regular season and other structural changes once formal CBA talks start in 2026, making drug policy one of several high-profile issues on the table. In past bargaining cycles, the league has often offered concessions on marijuana in exchange for player support on broader economic or scheduling changes.
What reforms might emerge remains unclear. Player advocates and some medical voices want the NFL to stop testing for THC altogether and instead focus on impairment, aligning more closely with leagues that have effectively dropped cannabis from random testing pools. A more incremental outcome—such as further narrowing the testing window or formalizing protections for doctor-supervised medical use—may be more politically realistic.
For now, the league continues to list cannabis as banned while emphasizing that research on long-term effects remains incomplete. But with legalization expanding, federal rescheduling under review, and the NFL itself investing in cannabinoid science, few expect the status quo to last indefinitely. The 2026 bargaining round is widely seen as the moment when the league will be forced to decide whether cannabis testing remains central to its drug program—or becomes a relic of an earlier era.