If any NFL team decides to violate the league's concu sion protocol in 2016, there's going to be some serious repercu sions. The NFL and the NFLPA announced on Monday that Roger Goodell has been given "absolute discretion" when it comes to punishing teams that violate the league's protocol. The NFL's concu sion protocol became a hot topic in November after Rams quarterback Case Keenum had his head slammed against the ground late in the fourth quarter of a game against Justin Holiday Jersey the Ravens. Despite the fact that Keenum clearly , the quarterback was allowed to stay in the game. After he showed these obvious signs of a concu sion, Case Keenum was allowed to continue playing in the game. Jason Luckasevic (@JasonLuckasevic) After the game, the NFL Jahlil Tripp Jersey investigated the situation with the goal of trying to find out why Keenum was allowed to re-enter the game. Although Goodell would later admit that the Rams could've done a better job, the team . "For clarity, we have the spotter upstairs that is a former athletic trainer and their job is, if they see a player that's in some type of distre s, is to buzz down," Goodell . "In the Case Keenum case, it was clear that there was somebody giving him medical attention and that that was already done. The problem we had was that the appropriate medical attention wasn't given and there were several gates that, frankly, failed and didn't do the John Konchar Jersey right things for our protocol. So we're trying to make changes to that." The tweak that was implemented on Monday will have both the NFL and NFLPA each designating a representative to monitor the implementation of the protocol and investigate potential violations. If a team violates the league's protocol, they'll potentially be facing a serious punishment. From , here's the list of potential disciplinary actions: A first violation will require the club employees or medical team members involved to attend remedial education; and/or result in a maximum fine of $150,000 against the club. Second and subsequent violations of the concu sion protocol will result in a minimum fine of $100,000 against the club. In the event the parties agree that a violation involved aggravating circumstances, the club shall Brandon Clarke Jersey be subject, in the first instance, to a fine no le s than $50,000. The Commi sioner shall determine appropriate discipline for subsequent violations involving aggravating circumstances. In the event that the Commi sioner determines that the club's medical team failed to follow the protocol due to competitive considerations, the Commi sioner may require the club to forfeit draft pick(s) and impose additional fines exceeding those amounts set forth above. Basically, a team could be hit with a $150,000 fine for its first offense. The most serious punishment would involve the Xavier Tillman Jersey potential lo s of a draft pick. As noted, that would only happen if Goodell thought a team violated concu sion protocol for "competitive reasons." For instance, if Aaron Rodgers suffered a concu sion in a playoff game and the Packers knew they couldn't win without him, so they put him back in the game, they would likely be hit with the most severe punishment. The new protocol will be implemented beginning with the 2016 NFL season.