The NFL-NFLPA Pain Management Committee (PMC) was formed in 2019 with the goal of benefiting the health and safety of NFL players through education and research.
The PMC has produced educational materials for players and team medical staffs that promote best clinical practices in pain management. The PMC has also been focused on finding alternatives to opioids in the pain management of players. In 2020, the Committee conducted two informational forums on CBD to learn about the current state of cannabidiol (CBD) science and manufacturing in North America, and, in 2021, issued a Request for Information to identify researchers studying pain management alternatives.
Now, the PMC is turning its attention to identifying potential research opportunities through a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process aimed at supplementing the PMC's knowledge about pain management and the potential effects of pain and cannabinoids on athletic performance in elite football players.
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity is to solicit proposals from investigators who have the current capability to carry out studies aimed at supplementing the PMC's knowledge about pain management and athletic performance in elite football players. This Funding Opportunity is intended to facilitate, at a minimum, the following three lines of potential inquiry:
- the effects of cannabinoids on pain in elite football players (post-surgical and/or in daily pain management);
- the effects of non-pharmacologic treatments on pain in elite football players (postsurgical and/or in daily pain management); and
- the effects of cannabis or cannabinoids on athletic performance (e.g., psychomotor, reaction time, cardiorespiratory function) in elite football players.
The NFL has developed this Funding Opportunity for the purposes of inviting research proposals and providing funding for innovative translational and clinical research being conducted by leading investigative teams related to the investigation of alternatives to opiates for pain management, as well as the impact of cannabis or cannabinoids on athletic performance in elite football players.
The NFL's intent through this Funding Opportunity is to demonstrate the potential for translational breakthroughs by leveraging innovative research, emerging science, current data sets and archival material related to use of alternatives to opiates in the management of pain, as well as the impact of cannabis or cannabinoids on athletic performance in elite football players. This Funding Opportunity is designed to support multidisciplinary investigative teams with strong track records of collaboration and accomplishment in the field. New collaborations of strong research teams will be strongly considered as well.
Limit one (1) Pre-Proposal per investigative team, and (2) no more than two (2) proposals per institution. Interested applicants from within Duke should contact dukeiln@duke.edu as early as possible.
Deadline for Pre-proposals: July 31, 2021
The anticipated total amount to be funded for this Funding Opportunity is up to $1,000,000. The NFL expects to fund up to five (5) pilot studies within this total amount. The number of winning investigative teams, and the total amount to be funded, will be determined initially based on the quality of the proposals submitted and by recommendations from the NFL's PMC initially and by the Research & Innovation Committee subsequently (as further described below, the R&I Committee). The NFL will make the final decision as to which proposals are funded (and to what degree) based on the number of proposals recommended by the R&I Committee.