FIFA’s arrival in the USA has triggered major changes in NFL stadiums. Venues that once stood rigid on their take regarding artificial turf have replaced it with natural grass, owing to FIFA’s requirements. The irony is that NFL players have been asking for these changes for years. This prompted Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski to weigh in on the grass vs turf debate. 

“AstroTurf is the worst,” Edelman claimed on the Dudes On Dudes Podcast. “Regular turf is the second worst. Or the new turf. Bermuda grass is number one. Kentucky Blue is number two. Basketball court, awful. I always loved that Florida grass, that Bermuda. Whenever you went to those southern states, they always had great grass. Just better for your body, too.” 

Gronk also chimed in to support the point.

“Grass absolutely dominates turf,” he added. “When you get tackled, and you land on grass, it’s so much more comfortable. You don’t get that turf burn on some nice grass, especially that Bermuda grass that Julian was talking about.”

Notably, former NFLPA president JC Tretter has advocated in favor of grass for years. As per a social media post by the players’ union last week, 92% (out of more than 1700 players) players preferred natural grass over artificial turf. The survey further revealed that artificial turf caused more non-contact injuries than natural grass. 

As reported by ESPN and written by Tretter in a newsletter in 2020, there was a higher rate (28%) of “noncontact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf as compared to grass.” And out of these, there was a 32% higher rate of knee injuries and 69% higher rate of ankle or foot injuries on artificial turf. 

Tretter also highlighted the physics behind this in the past. When an athlete plants his foot and makes a sharp cut on a natural grass surface, the cleats dig in but eventually break free. This helps release the built-up kinetic energy easily and, ultimately, saves the players from injuries. But modern artificial turf acts differently.

Turf, reportedly, has “less give”. And during a pivot, the rotational torque builds up and the kinetic energy has nowhere to go. In the end, the knees and ankles absorb the force, increasing the risk of injuries. On top of that, there’s an increased risk of friction burns on turf, too.

In fact, the recent removal of artificial turf also prompted the NFLPA to send out a strongly worded statement calling out the move.

“The temporary installation of natural grass fields for the World Cup is a choice by certain NFL team owners to do for soccer players what they refuse to do for NFL players,” the statement reportedly read. “It’s no longer a question of capability: the technology exists, the expertise exists and the resources exist to install the high-level grass fields that our players overwhelmingly prefer.

“We have seen the meaningful investments made to meet the standard for international athletes and global events. NFL players—who regularly compete on these fields, help fund these stadiums and whose work makes the league what it is today—deserve the same commitment to quality grass fields.”

Despite the clear consensus, only a few NFL teams have invested in natural grass surfaces. Las Vegas Raiders invested in a 4-foot-deep, 9,500-ton sliding field tray that rolls natural grass in and out of Allegiant Stadium. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins acquired 80 acres of land to farm grass near Palm Beach County. 

But why isn’t every NFL team opting for grass? Well, turf is significantly cheaper to maintain, doesn’t require expensive irrigation or sunlight, and allows the owners to host year-round concerts, races, monster truck rallies, and other events, without ruining the surface. Dallas Cowboys’ billionaire owner, Jerry Jones, also claimed that turf gives more flexibility to the stadium handlers. 

“We have more flexibility with the way we handle our surface at the stadium. We have no belief that it’s any safer to play on grass,” Jones said as per Yahoo Sports. “The turf, actually like many things, improves the economics of being able to play this game and our players are the biggest benefactor of all. They get the best benefit of when we do good things financially, the players benefit. So I’m working for you, baby, if you’re a player.

“I’m very comfortable putting some grass down for soccer under regulations and proud to be able to do it, but quickly getting the turf back there to get back to the other business of the stadium and the team.”

Ultimately, it all comes down to the NFL rules. It doesn’t seem like the debate will end anytime soon. But the advocates for grass are consistently rising.