As mental health concerns spike, NFL launches network to provide offsite clinicians to players and their families

The NFL is expanding the mental health resources available to players and their families.

Beginning Sept. 1, NFL players and any family members on their insurance plan will gain access to a network of vetted clinicians in every NFL city. Players can use these resources, in addition to in-house clinicians, without visit limits or coinsurance requirements, NFL vice president of wellness and clinical services Dr. Nyaka NiiLampti told Yahoo Sports.

The network launch comes in the wake of a spring announcement by the league to increase mental health resources in three tiers following the deaths by suicide of Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore last November and February, respectively.

The league announced in March that it was increasing its in-house clinical presence to require teams to staff full-time mental health clinicians, up from the previous requirement that teams staff clinicians at least eight to 12 hours a week as mandated by the NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement. The NFL also has sought to increase efforts to support the mental health of players battling injuries, as Moore had in the years prior to his death. And the NFL and NFLPA partnered with Cigna Healthcare to create this network.

"Historically the sense was that players don't use mental health resources," NiiLampti told Yahoo Sports by phone on Tuesday. "Sports is a microcosm of society. So in the last few years we've seen everybody increase their use of mental health resources and this population is no different. And so we've probably had more difficulties trying to find a provider than we have had people willing to use the resource.

"I like to say we're way past awareness. We're really into action."

The behavioral network aims to smooth access to clinical support for current and eligible former players, as well as all family members who are on their insurance plans.

NFL and NFLPA staff worked to identify providers with experience navigating the mental health challenges that most stress professional athletes.

The league aims to have at least three to five tabbed clinicians in NFL cities, as well as markets with strong former player presences, NiiLampti said.

"Anybody who has had to navigate the mental health system knows how cumbersome that can be," NiiLampti said. "I'm a psychologist and it's difficult to navigate. So … the goal is to remove as many barriers as possible to members of the community who are interested in seeking support."

Players will still have access to on-site clinicians who can either support them directly or refer them to these offsite providers. The providers are available for in-person as well as virtual visits. NiiLampti estimated that the pre-identification of these providers could eliminate four to five hours of research for team clinicians aiming to provide players with the best possible referrals.

She expects some players will still avail themselves of in-house clinicians.

"What we're seeing is more and more players are comfortable with using the in-house clinical," NiiLampti said. "It limits them having to travel."

But the league is realistic about some employees' concerns visiting a clinical provider who works for their employer and is hosted on site. While players can connect with network providers through in-house clinicians, they can also connect with off-site clinicians independent of in-house resources.

"We will always be in a position where players might not trust the resources that are in the building," NiiLampti said. "And so one of the things that we really made sure will happen on this one as well is that players can directly access this referral network so they don't have to go through somebody at the club to find a provider.

"They can actually access it on their own."

The NFLPA had previously given players a clinical directory, but this collectively bargained network will create a support system for scheduling visits that are covered at 100%. The league and union have worked to encourage current and former players to be more proactive about their physical and mental health , a move that experts say is players' best option when facing concerns about degenerative brain conditions such as the football-associated neurological degeneration called CTE.

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn echoed that message after Moore's death in February.

"I'm hopeful that we get to a point that we're not talking about mental health just when a tragedy hits, but that we are talking about it on a regular basis," Quinn said. "Then we know we're making real strides."

Players will receive mail and email blasts to alert them of the behavioral network. Clubs are also required to complete mental health education sessions. Those sessions predated the deaths of Kneeland and Moore. But the league recognizes how player suicides can change the tenor of these trainings.

"I'd say that the conversations probably hit a little bit differently this year," NiiLampti said. "The more that we can encourage folks to, again, think about where they are, check in on each other and use the resources, I think that's the goal."