NFL players make their stance known in ongoing grass vs. turf surface debate

Due to the physical nature of the sport, often resulting in increased injury risk, one ongoing debate within the NFL for years has been the league's playing surfaces.

The benefits of turf vs. real grass have gone back and forth for some time — especially whenever a serious non-impact injury occurs. And with many grass fields being installed at NFL stadiums in advance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the NFL playing surface debate is also picking up again.

The executive director of the NFL Players' Association, JC Tretter, recently spoke about how nearly all players prefer grass fields despite around half of the league's teams using artificial turf.  

Here's what Tretter said about NFL players wanting all grass playing surfaces.

MORE: Full history of significant injuries at MetLife Stadium

Why NFL players want grass surface vs. turf

As of May 2026, fifteen NFL teams use some kind of artificial turf for their home games, while the other 17 use real grass. With the World Cup resulting in only grass fields being installed at some NFL stadiums, Tretter recently spoke about the ongoing debate.

"What we want is good grass fields. Good, solid fields," Tretter said on the "Not Just Football" podcast with Cam Heyward, per ESPN. "You don't just want to pull out the [municipal] golf course grass. On every field, you want high quality surfaces. I think one thing is understanding what our players care about. And there is something there that the data hasn't been able to spit back out at us. Which if you ask every player that we polled, 1,700 players, 92% say they want grass over turf.

"There is something about the feeling of being on grass the body feels different. I think if you ask the coaches, just standing on grass vs. standing on turf for three hours, feels different. There is something there that impacts the body."

Tretter also addressed how the difference in injuries on turf vs. grass fields have become less noticeable over time, but said having high-quality grass fields that meet players' standards could be more beneficial.

"I think it's important for us to have metrics to enforce them, making sure the stadiums are being used predominantly for football games, especially when having concerts and monster truck rallies, those are all things owners make money off. The players don't make money off it," Tretter said, per ESPN. "The idea that, hey, we're going to host these events that means we have to put a worse surface on there for you and you don't actually get any of that money for those events we're hosting isn't a great thing for the players either. And that is what we have to evaluate for the next deal."

In 2025, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a new model when it comes to selecting playing surfaces in stadiums. Per ESPN, that agreement will "require teams to choose from an approved set of metrics and styles for both natural and synthetic field," and it applies to any teams that planned to replace their playing surfaces for the 2026 season — and, come 2028, all stadiums will be required to have league-approved fields.

NFL injuries suffered on turf

The most frequent target of players' complaints about playing surfaces has been MetLife Stadium, the venue shared by the New York Giants and the New York Giants.

Whether they can be attributed to the turf or not, MetLife has seen an unusually significant amount of season-ending injuries in the NFL. In 2020, both Nick Bosa and  Solomon Thomas both suffered torn ACLs in the same game. Other injuries at Metlife since then include an Achilles tear and ACL tear for Sterling Shepard, an ACL tear for Wan'Dale Robinson, an Achilles tear for Aaron Rodgers, an Achilles tear for Jaelan Phillips and an ACL tear for Malik Nabers.

An NFLPA study previously showed that, based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, players had a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass. 

However, there have also been some significant injuries on grass — playing on turf isn't the only reason for potential injuries. In December 2025, Patrick Mahomes' season-ending torn ACL came on real grass at the Chiefs' GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which was also the case for Micah Parsons' injury at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.