NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Seven NFL stadiums will install turf fields to comply with FIFA regulations for this summer. World Cupand one of the league’s biggest stars calls out the hypocrisy.
Half of the league’s stadiums use turf, although NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell has said that 92% of league players prefer grass.
The most common assumption, however, is that turf is cheaper to use and easier to maintain than turf, given that stadiums host many more events throughout the year.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle sits on a cart after an injury during the first half of an NFL playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia on January 11, 2026. (Chris Szagola/Associated Press)
Well, as the group stage reaches its final days, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle called out the NFL for ignoring players’ demands but bending the knee to FIFA.
“We’ve made it clear that we prefer turf fields. We know it’s better for our bodies. And clearly we know it’s possible, given all that has been done to put turf fields for the World Cup in every stadium,” Kittle said in a statement posted by the NFLPA on social media.
Workers install the pitch at New York New Jersey Stadium, temporarily renamed MetLife Stadium, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in East Rutherford, New Jersey, May 7, 2026. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
WORLD CUP ANNOUNCER SAYS FIFA MANDATE ON TURF WILL BE ‘HUGE CONVERSATION’ REGARDING NFL TURF FIELDS
“At this point, it’s about the NFL making this a priority and choosing to invest in us as players because our bodies are our business that they can capitalize on!”
Kittle is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered on grass in Philadelphia.
Former offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth recently told PK Press Club Digital that he “absolutely would” be frustrated with the NFL if he were in Kittle’s shoes.
“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, but said he understood the territory argument. “The reality is that everyone wants to play on grass because it makes you feel better.”
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.
Turf and artificial turf fields will be subject to the new standards, but the NFL has no plans to require natural turf fields.
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)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
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. This is despite players’ widespread preference for turf fields and complaints about surfaces such as that at MetLife Stadium, where New York Giants and the Jets and where the World Cup final will be held on July 19.
