GREEN BAY, Wis. — There is no timetable for the NFL to decide whether to discipline Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs following his no-contest plea Thursday on two misdemeanor charges, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
Schefter posted the league’s statement at 12:42 p.m. Central Time on Thursday.
“We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter, which remains under review of the personal conduct policy,” the official said. “There is no change to his status as he remains on the Commissioner’s Exempt list.”
Brown County prosecutors charged Jacobs on Aug. 27 with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property over a May incident involving his girlfriend at his Hobart home. At the courthouse Thursday, the judge fined Jacobs $1,000 plus costs on the battery count. The property damage count will be held open for a year and then thrown out if Jacobs meets the conditions of a deferred judgment agreement, his attorneys said in a statement.
Those conditions include staying away from the victim, reporting to Brown County Criminal Justice Services, going to counseling, and paying her restitution, according to WBAY. Jacobs has already started counseling on his own, one of his attorneys said.
Jacobs spoke briefly during Thursday morning’s hearing.
“I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, and I take full responsibility,” Jacobs said in court, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
What The Exempt List Means For Josh Jacobs
Sunday’s season opener against the Minnesota Vikings is off the table for Jacobs as long as he stays on the list. The NFL moved him there Aug. 30, a designation that lets him keep collecting his paychecks and work out at the team facility with the Packers’ approval. Practices are off limits, and his spot doesn’t count against Green Bay’s 53-man roster.
If the league does suspend Jacobs, the personal conduct policy credits every regular-season game he misses on the exempt list toward that penalty. Jacobs would then have to return the pay he collected for those weeks.
Jacobs’ attorneys called the league’s move an administrative procedure rather than a final determination in a statement after the placement.
“He looks forward to his return to the team and the NFL,” the attorneys said.
Earlier this month, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters he hoped to have Jacobs back at some point this season. Gutekunst said the organization is “going to let this process play out,” according to NFL.com.
How The NFL Handled A 2024 Case Involving Mike Hall Jr.
Two years ago, the NFL put Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. on the commissioner exempt list in late August after he was charged with domestic violence following an altercation with his fiancée. Hall pleaded no contest Sept. 19, 2024, to a reduced disorderly conduct charge and received a $250 fine, a suspended 30-day jail sentence, and two years of court monitoring.
On Oct. 1, 2024, 12 days after that plea, the league suspended Hall five games for violating the personal conduct policy. The four games Hall had already sat out on the exempt list counted toward the five, and he had to give back his salary for them. Hall became eligible to return Oct. 7.
Jacobs was booked on five counts after his arrest this spring, the most serious of them a felony strangulation and suffocation count. Brown County District Attorney David Lasee filed just the two misdemeanors in late August, pointing to evidence that only became available after lengthy forensic work.
While Jacobs is out, the Packers will lean on MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, and Kaleb Johnson. Johnson came over in an Aug. 30 trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jacobs, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, ran for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns across 15 games in 2025.
