NFLPA executive director JC Tretter said players strongly prefer high-quality natural grass surfaces, citing a union poll of 1,700 players in which 92% indicated a preference for grass over turf, Tretter said recently on the “Not Just Football” podcast.
The comments come as several NFL stadiums prepare to host FIFA World Cup matches on natural grass, reinforcing the players’ desire to move away from artificial turf, the report says. The league currently has 15 of 30 stadiums using some form of artificial turf for NFL games, and venues that normally use turf for football will be outfitted with grass for the tournament, the report adds.
Tretter also pointed to how FIFA and many European leagues deploy grass consistently, saying organizers “are rolling out the green carpet” and that players there expect surface standards. The report notes that MetLife Stadium, AT&T Field, Gillette Stadium, Lumen Field, NRG Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium use artificial turf for NFL games but will have natural grass for World Cup matches. The installation process began in recent weeks, with the tournament expected to commence on June 11 and the United States opening June 12 at SoFi Stadium, per the report.
On the subject of injuries, Tretter said the commonly cited talking point is that injury rates on turf versus grass are marginal, but he argued a deeper look shows turf injuries have remained relatively steady while grass injury rates have worsened. He said players and coaches notice a physical difference in how the body feels on grass compared with turf.
Tretter urged adoption of quality standards for grass fields and metrics to enforce them, noting stadiums are used for concerts and monster truck rallies that generate revenue for owners while players do not benefit financially from those events. He added that surface choices and stadium use will be an issue to evaluate in the next bargaining cycle.
The report says the current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2030 and that the NFL and NFLPA agreed late last year to a new model for selecting playing surfaces. That model will require teams replacing surfaces for the 2026 season to choose from an approved set of metrics and styles for natural and synthetic fields, with all stadiums required to have approved fields by the 2028 season.
