Owners will meet next week to discuss unilateral rule changes, but a league spokesman said that the players' union may not be involved in the decisions

A reading of the existing rule on Monday Night Football revealed a small change to the language of the policy, opening the door for teams to punish protesters

The new language didn't appear on the internet until the last two weeks

Teams can now be docked multiple draft picks if players kneel during the anthem

The new version of the policy removed language saying that punishment would come from the league office, giving teams the ability to punish players directly

The existing NFL policy continues to state that players 'should' stand for the national anthem but stops short of saying they 'must' do so

President Donald Trump has been critical of the NFL, recently calling for the league to lose its tax status if players continue to protest during the anthem

The NFL previously gave up its non-profit status, and even before that decision, individual franchises were still required to pay taxes on all league revenue

NFL owners are prepared to meet next week to discuss unilateral changes to league policy concerning players protesting during the national anthem.

In a conference call on Tuesday, chief NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said owners will consider allowing the players to give their input on the decision, but said the league would not need union approval to implement a change. A large number of NFL players have been protesting police brutality against minorities since 2016 without any punishment from their respective teams or the league itself.

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'I don’t believe that the anthem, per se, is something that needs to be collectively bargained,' Lockhart said.

The NFL players' union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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NFL teams, such as the Dallas Cowboys (above), have knelt, sat, and raised a fist during the national anthem to raise awareness about police brutality against minorities

As it currently reads, the policy says players 'should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their hand, and refrain from talking' during the anthem.

However, it stops short of saying players 'must' stand.

Beyond the possibility of any overt rule changes, the NFL may have quietly altered the wording of its current policy to give teams the incentive and power to punish protesting players who sit or kneel during the 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'

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On Monday Night Football, ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen referenced the rule as it is currently written in the NFL's game operations manual. Most significantly, the policy now states: '[Players' f]ailure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.'

According to Deadspin, which previously obtained a 2014 copy of the NFL's Policy Manual for Member Clubs, that language is new. The policy previously read that failure to be on the field by the start of the national anthem may 'result in disciplinary action from the League office.'

An NFL spokesman did not return requests for comment on the apparent policy change.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert shared the policy in full on Twitter during Monday's Bears-Vikings game

The difference is small, but significant.

The inclusion of 'forfeiture of draft choices' implies that teams can be punished for the actions of their protesting players with the loss of one or multiple draft picks. That gives the teams an incentive to force the players to stand during the national anthem, which is something many fans and President Donald Trump have demanded.

But the teeth of the rule change rests with the omission of the stipulation that the disciplinary action will come from the league office. Theoretically, this opens the door for teams punishing players directly.

According to Deadspin, the newer language did not appear on the internet until two weeks ago.

The issue of players' protesting the national anthem has gained attention throughout the country over the last two years.

Then San Francisco 49ers-quarterback Colin Kaepernick began the protests by refusing to stand for the national anthem during the 2016 preseason. The demonstration was intended to bring attention to police brutality against minorities, and even though the free agent Kaepernick remains unsigned this season, the protests have gained popularity thanks, in part, to the objections of Trump.

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Over the last few weeks the President has spoken and tweeted about the issue, accusing protesting players of disrespecting the flag and military veterans, even going so far as to call anyone who takes a knee a 'son of a b****.'

Vice President Mike Pence (left) and wife Karen (right) left a Colts game Sunday after members of the San Francisco 49ers took a knee during the playing of the national anthem

After previously kneeling alongside his players, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently announced he would bench any player who refused to stand for the national anthem.

Jones's comment came in response to a question about Vice President Mike Pence, who left a game in Indianapolis on Sunday after about a dozen San Francisco players knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner.

'I know this, we cannot...in the NFL in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,' Jones said after a 35-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

'We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind that the National Football League and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag,' he continued.

Jones demonstrated with his players two weeks ago, locking arms with the Cowboys and kneeling before ultimately standing before a game in Arizona.

Trump was initially critical of Jones and the Cowboys, but the two have since talked, and Jones credited the President with alerting him to the NFL's existing policy on the subject.

In an interview with Mortensen, Jones said 'You know who reminded me about the game ops policy? Donald Trump.'

Jones and Trump have been in contact over the issue of protests during the national anthem

Trump took aim at the league's tax status, but the NFL is no longer tax exempt

Trump devoted several Tuesday morning Tweets to the subject, ultimately asking why the NFL is getting 'massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!'

The NFL officially became a tax-exempt nonprofit in 1942 before relinquishing that status in 2015.

And even before that decision, the NFL's tax exemption did not apply to the individual teams. In other words, all NFL revenue - including tickets, television rights fees, and merchandise - are taxable and have been for some time.

'The idea that we received some sort of tax break is not true so there is nothing really here to give up,' Lockhart said Tuesday.

According to Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation in 2013, the 10-year cost to taxpayers for the NFL's exemption was $109 million.

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The league does use tax-exempt bonds to help finance stadiums, most of which are built with tax dollars in the first place.