NFL to Mirror Safety Standards in High School and NCAA Football

Following NFL initiatives aimed at making the game safer, the league will standardize rules across all levels of football.

The new rules introduced this season will also be implemented at college and high school level. It is hoped that this will lead to more safety and less confusion as players move up the ranks.

The news was announced at NFL headquarters on Tuesday. A group including owners, general managers and executives met with their college counterparts and NFL Players Association representatives.

The process of getting schools and NCAAF aligned with the NFL rule changes will take two years, according to EPSN.

Want $250 to bet on the NFL?

“There is a realization that the game needs to be perceived to be, and in fact be, safer,” said Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson.

“Or else we are all going to continue to lose youth participation. Therefore the trickle effect will be to lose participation across all levels. I think there is a realization right now across the levels that something needs to be done. I don’t think that anyone who is halfway intelligent would deny that [football] is being questioned at every level.”

Read: Early Look at Packers VS Patriots

The confusion over the new NFL helmet rule convinced the committee that all levels of the game needed to be on the same page. This is according to competition committee chairman Rich McKay.

“The idea,” McKay said, “is that you try to have unified safety terminology for players so they understand what the foul is and what it isn’t, and then teach it all the way down.

“Beginning with little kids, getting into high school, in college and in the pros. The fact that we have different fouls and talk about them in different ways leads to confusion by the players, and understandable confusion I might add.”