Updates

The NFL Way to Play educational series highlights proper technique to protect players from unnecessary risk and to foster culture change across all levels of football.

The NFL has announced the NFL Way to Play Award, which further showcases the NFL’s commitment to promoting proper playing technique.

“Coaches, Legends, and players worked together to develop the NFL Way to Play emphasizing stance, posture and technique as key to protecting players while providing a winning edge,” said Troy Vincent, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations. “The Way to Play Award will acknowledge a player each week who best demonstrates the fundamentals of knees bent, pads down, and head up and out as they compete in this great game.”

The NFL Football Operations and Officiating departments will select the top nominees from plays submitted by NFL clubs each week. Video of the plays will then be reviewed by an expert panel consisting of Ed Hochuli, Merril Hoge, Ronnie Lott, Willie McGinest, Orlando Pace and Chuck Pagano, who will select the best examples of proper technique.

Each Way to Play Award recipient will receive a $2,500 equipment grant through USA Football, which will be awarded to a local youth or high school football program of his choice.

The weekly winners will be announced on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Thursday mornings.

NFL Way to Play educational sessions were held with coaches in New York May 1 and 2. The league conducted webinars and conference calls with all 32 coaching staffs May 16 and 17, and NFL Officiating held sessions with players during training camps.

Several NFL head coaches, active players and NFL Legends created videos for coaches and players on position-based applications of the new use of helmet rule, to provide coaching points of emphasis for proper technique, and to be used as an educational tool.

To watch the videos and for more information, please visit ops.nfl.com/WTP-Award or www.playsmartplaysafe.com.