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NFL players dislike turf and want natural grass

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Buckeye Homer

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NFL players want all playing surfaces to be grass, not turf. The NFL prefers to let teams play on artificial surfaces, if they so choose.
The debate has intensified in recent months. A Tuesday night feature on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel addressed the situation, focusing on how the use of turf has trickled down to the high-school level, causing an “epidemic” of injuries.
While not quite an epidemic yet at the NFL level, a league source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the 2022 injury data for turf fields was “awful.”
At this week’s ownership meetings in Minneapolis, NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills acknowledged that the “numbers weren’t good,” without getting into specifics. None of the owners pressed for specifics, we’re told.
We’ve asked the NFL for the data, but the league has not yet responded to two separate emails on the issue.
As the source put it, the relevant representatives of the league office are “experts at confusing the 26 owners who don’t pay attention.” The source added that, on matters of turf vs. grass, the league will gloss over the fundamental differences between injury risk on real grass and injury risk on fake grass.
The situation is gaining momentum, especially with many noticing the willingness of owners of stadiums with artificial turf to find a way to get grass installed for World Cup matches, since grass is a prerequisite to hosting the games.
More and more people think grass should be a prerequisite for hosting NFL games.
Obviously, it all comes down to money. Despite the many billions the league now generates, there’s a degree of cheapness that keeps teams from embracing a better and safer surface. And there’s also a shortsightedness at play, given that they’re failing to protect their investments in the players who are exposed to less-than-ideal working conditions.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/24/source-2022-injury-data-for-turf-fields-was-awful/
Article from the Athletic from last November on “Panthers players join growing chorus speaking out against turf”:
https://theathletic.com/3895423/2022/11/14/panthers-stadium-turf-grass-injuries/
 
Buckeye Homer said:
NFL players want all playing surfaces to be grass, not turf. The NFL prefers to let teams play on artificial surfaces, if they so choose.
The debate has intensified in recent months. A Tuesday night feature on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel addressed the situation, focusing on how the use of turf has trickled down to the high-school level, causing an “epidemic” of injuries.
While not quite an epidemic yet at the NFL level, a league source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the 2022 injury data for turf fields was “awful.”
At this week’s ownership meetings in Minneapolis, NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills acknowledged that the “numbers weren’t good,” without getting into specifics. None of the owners pressed for specifics, we’re told.
We’ve asked the NFL for the data, but the league has not yet responded to two separate emails on the issue.
As the source put it, the relevant representatives of the league office are “experts at confusing the 26 owners who don’t pay attention.” The source added that, on matters of turf vs. grass, the league will gloss over the fundamental differences between injury risk on real grass and injury risk on fake grass.
The situation is gaining momentum, especially with many noticing the willingness of owners of stadiums with artificial turf to find a way to get grass installed for World Cup matches, since grass is a prerequisite to hosting the games.
More and more people think grass should be a prerequisite for hosting NFL games.
Obviously, it all comes down to money. Despite the many billions the league now generates, there’s a degree of cheapness that keeps teams from embracing a better and safer surface. And there’s also a shortsightedness at play, given that they’re failing to protect their investments in the players who are exposed to less-than-ideal working conditions.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/05/24/source-2022-injury-data-for-turf-fields-was-awful/
Article from the Athletic from last November on “Panthers players join growing chorus speaking out against turf”:
https://theathletic.com/3895423/2022/11/14/panthers-stadium-turf-grass-injuries/
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@CloakNNNdagger has talked about this subject, and presented many different studies on it as well
 
There’s this thing called the collective bargaining agreement. Could be resolved in negotiations of that. Never heard it brought up during these negotiations, though.
 
The NFL turf vs. grass debate is heating up, especially after reports of high injury rates on turf in 2022. It's worrying that the league hasn't been forthcoming with the data, leaving fans and players in the dark about safety. With grassroots movements and even World Cup standards pushing for natural grass, the call for change is loud.
 
The NFL only pretends to care about the safety of the players. They only act after high publicity lawsuits, and then only half-assed.
 
Thorn said:
The NFL only pretends to care about the safety of the players. They only act after high publicity lawsuits, and then only half-assed.
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I think the complete opposite. They care a little too much. After all… this is the NFL aka Nancy Pants Football league. Can’t tackle nobody without getting flagged.
 
Years ago a player sued the Texans I think for injury due to team using interlocking grass trays to make the grass field. There seems were a problem that possibly no one came up with a viable solution.
I wonder if anyone has thought about putting in a grass field naturally, and then having raised ( a gap to not crush grass ) field alternatives for other events. Kind of like a giant spike shoe that’s good for grass anyways, probably could even run UV lights under the tray for grass health.
I know it sounds different but I guess it would be a layer of cement for spikes to settle to for even height , soil, grass, then trays.


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The NFL turf vs. grass argument is getting hotter, particularly in light of estimates that turf will have higher injury rates in 2022. The league's lack of transparency over safety, which has left players and spectators in the dark, is concerning. The cry for reform is loud, with grassroots initiatives and even World Cup criteria advocating for natural grass. It's disheartening that money seems to outweigh players' well-being. Perhaps implementing thorough score tracking of injuries on different surfaces could provide the clarity needed to drive change and prioritize player welfare over profits.
 
The fact is it's a chore growing a grass field at NRG. No slide-out field to get it in the sunlight and what we call an open roof is more like opening the sunroof in a car. It's a (relatively) small hole at the top. They tried the trays and it looked like crap every single season but the first one and that's before we started hearing the player complaints about the gaps between the trays and the crummy traction due to the grass roots not having enough soil to stay together. It was a s**t-show. It's going to take a dedicated field with a stadium that has lighting installed to make up for the lack of natural sunlight and THEN you have the HLS&R coming to call and wanting to destroy all your hard work by trucking in a couple of feet of dirt to pour on top of it just so they can do their thing for a couple of weeks every year.

This is what you need the dome for. Strip it to its bones and turn it into a smaller version of itself for use by the rodeo and other events that would otherwise ruin NRG's field.
 
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