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NFL players have called for years to make grass fields mandatory in their stadiums; This summer they will be, but for another reason.
Seven NFL stadiums that use artificial turf have converted their playing surfaces to grass to comply with FIFA regulations during the World Cup.
Half of the league’s stadiums use grass, even though NFLPA CEO Lloyd Howell said 92% of the league’s players prefer grass.
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Andrew Whitworth #77 of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates after Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on February 13, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Understandably, Super Bowl champion offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth said he would “definitely be” upset with the league if he were still playing.
“I don’t think there’s any question about it, just because we’ve expressed so many things that we’d love to have it,” Whitworth admitted.
“I get it. Here’s the reality: When you look at these stadiums, they’re entertainment venues. They’re not just for football. From Taylor Swift’s tour to whatever, everything happens there. So when you say, OK, from the standpoint of owning a building, being able to operate as a venue like that, I get it. To be able to have concerts, to be able to have all the events that they want to have there, you need a harder surface. So you get that part of it.”
But one of the reasons Whitworth was “pumped” to be a Ram was because their division opponents played on grass in their home stadiums. Even when he first signed, the Rams were on the grass at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The NFL logo is displayed on the field after the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on December 28, 2025. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
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At this point, many studies on injuries and playing surfaces are contradictory, but Whitworth said they go far beyond actual injuries.
“We could criticize every surface in the world for injury rates, right? But I’ll tell you this: Ask people who actually stand on grass and turf, what would they rather play on? There’s no other discussion,” he said. “The reality is that everyone wants to play on grass because it feels better.
“At my age, older or younger, you feel it in your body and in your bones. Forget about injuries. You feel it for days after that game. Days and days. You can feel the difference. I always tell this to people. Go out and take a long walk on concrete in your neighborhood, then take the same walk on a rubber surface at a track and see how different your body feels. That’s the reality. You play lawn games, man, I would recover in a second. Even at 40, I’d play a game on grass and say, ‘Dude, I’m ready to lift tomorrow. I feel great.’
“But a grass game almost takes away all your energy and your bones and everything. So I think every time we get into it, it’s not just about data. It’s about when these players say it’s that extra feeling of another three, four days of, man, I just feel terrible. I feel horrible.”
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Workers install the pitch at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on May 7, 2026. (Charly Triballeu/AFP)
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Was announced at the end of last year that each NFL team will receive “a library of approved and accredited NFL fields” before the 2026 season begins. Any new fields will have to immediately meet those standards, and all teams will have two years to reach them. Both grass and synthetic turf fields will be subject to the new rules.
The NFL has no plans to require natural grass fields.
The league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said there are no “statistically significant differences” in lower extremity injuries or concussions that can be attributed to the type of playing surface or a specific surface, despite widespread player preferences for grass fields and complaints about surfaces like the one at MetLife Stadium, where New York Giants and Jets play and where the World Cup final will be played on July 19.
