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NFL players have been asking for years for turf fields to be mandatory in their stadiums – this summer they will be, but for a different reason.
Seven NFL stadiums that use artificial turf converted their playing surfaces to turf in accordance with FIFA regulations during the World Cup.
Half of the league’s stadiums use turf, although NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell said 92 percent of the league’s players prefer turf.
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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)
Naturally, Super Bowl champion offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth said he “definitely” would be bothered by the league if he played again.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt about it, just because we’ve been so vocal that we’d like 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 soccer. From the Taylor Swift tour to whatever you want, everything happens there. So when you say, okay, from the standpoint of owning a building, the fact that it can function as a venue like that, I get it. To be able to have concerts there, to be able to have all the events they want there, you need a harder surface. So you understand that part of it.”
But one of the reasons Whitworth was “upped” to become a Ram was because his divisional opponents were playing 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 conflicting, but Whitworth said it goes well beyond actual injuries.
“We could nitpick every surface in the world when it comes to injury rates, right? But I’ll tell you this: Ask the people who actually stand on grass and turf, what would you rather play on? There’s no other discussion,” he said. “The reality is that everyone wants to play on grass because it makes you feel better.
“At my age, older or younger, you feel it in your body and in your bones. Forget the injuries. You feel it for days after that game. Days and days. You can just feel the difference. I always tell people that. Go out and take a long walk on the concrete in your neighborhood, then take the same walk on a rubber surface on a track and see how different you feel in your body. That’s the real thing. You play lawn games, man, I would bounce back in a second Even at 40, I was playing a grass court game and I was like, “Man, I’m ready to go lift tomorrow, I feel good.
“But a grass game almost takes away all your energy and your bones and all that. So I think every time we get there, it’s not just about the data. It’s about the moment where these players say it’s that extra feeling of three, four extra days, man, I just feel bad. 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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It was announced at the end of last year that every NFL team will receive “a library of approved and accredited NFL fields” before the start of the 2026 season. Any new field will have to immediately meet these standards, and all teams will have two years to achieve them. Grass and synthetic turf fields will be subject to the new standards.
The NFL has no plans to require natural turf fields.
The league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said there were no “statistically significant differences” in lower extremity injuries or concussions that could be attributed to the type of playing surface or a specific surface, despite widespread player preferences for turf fields and complaints about surfaces such as that at MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and the Jets and where the World Cup final will be held on July 19.
