The 2022-23 season has been one for the record books in many ways. Geno broke out as a star, the Eagles led the way, and even the Vikings are in the hunt for a ring.
What is maybe even more shocking are the number of noticeable injuries we’ve seen on the field. Cooper Kupp went down with an ankle injury in late November: out for 6-8 weeks. Terence Steele, torn ACL: out for the season. Kyler Murray out at the knee in mid December. Deebo Samuel,, Von Miller, the list goes on and on. We aren’t the ones keeping track of the actual numbers, but as fans, it seemed to be a year full of star players being carted off the field with lower body injuries. I for one held my breath each time my favorites landed…especially in stadiums with artificial turf, one major contributing factor to lower body injuries in the sport. Professional soccer players and the World Cup refuse to play on it, so why does our gridiron kingdom continue to put player health at risk? It can’t be cost…these billion dollar franchises have the money, and we’re all reminded of that every time we spend $10+ on a draft beer at the stadium. The NFLPA continues to beg the league to require natural grass for safety of their players.
“Professional football players put extremely high levels of force and rotation onto the playing surface. Grass will eventually give, which often releases the cleat prior to reaching an injurious load. On synthetic surfaces, there is less give, meaning our feet, ankles and knees absorb the force, which makes injury more likely to follow,” shared JC Tretter in a web post on the NFLPA website recently. “The data supports the anecdotes you’ll hear from me and other players: artificial turf is significantly harder on the body than grass. Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries on turf compared to natural surfaces.NFL clubs should proactively change all field surfaces to natural grass.”
And that’s just the injury side of things…not to mention the heat islands these fields create, toxic PFAS they contain, and the eventual landfill space they take up every 7-10 years when they are replaced.
It seems an obvious choice, but as of 2022, there are 16 NFL fields out of 30 that use real grass, meaning roughly half of all teams in the NFL compete and practice on artificial turf (Giants and Jets share MetLife and Rams and Chargers share SoFi). The funny thing is, some of these stadiums agreed to switch out their plastic carpet for real grass to host World Cup games in 2026 (Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, LA, Boston, New York)...so why not make a full switch on behalf of your NFL players?
Is the artificial turf industry really that powerful to have Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and David Tepper’s pride in their hand like a fidget spinner? Oh wait…maybe so.
Real Grass Stadiums
Arizona Cardinals, State Farm Stadium, Bermuda grass
Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium, Bermuda grass
Chicago Bears, Soldier Field, Kentucky bluegrass
Cleveland Browns, FirstEnergy Stadium, Kentucky bluegrass
Denver Broncos, Empower Field at Mile High, Kentucky bluegrass
Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field, Desso GrassMaster (hybrid)
Jacksonville Jaguars, TIAA Bank Field, Bermuda grass
*Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium, Bermuda grass
Las Vegas Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, Bermuda grass
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raymond James Stadium, Bermuda grass
Tennessee Titans, Nissan Stadium, Bermuda grass
Washington Football Team, FedExField, Bermuda grass
*Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium, Bermuda grass
*Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, Desso GrassMaster (hybrid)
Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field, Kentucky bluegrass
*San Francisco 49ers, Levi’s Stadium, Bermuda grass, Perennial Ryegrass mixture
Artificial Turf Stadiums
*Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, FieldTurf Revolution
Buffalo Bills, Highmark Stadium, A-Turf Titan 50
Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium, FieldTurf
Cincinnati Bengals, Paul Brown Stadium, UBU Speed Series S5-M Synthetic Turf
*Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
Detroit Lions, Ford Field, FieldTurf Classic HD
*Houston Texans, NRG Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, Shaw Sports Momentum Pro
*Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, SoFi Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
Minnesota Vikings, US Bank Stadium, UBU Sports' Speed Series S5-M synthetic turf
*New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, FieldTurf
New Orleans Saints, Caesars Superdome, FieldTurf Revolution 360
*New York Giants, New York Jets, MetLife Stadium, UBU Sports Speed Series S5-M Synthetic Turf
*Seattle Seahawks, Lumen Field, FieldTurf Revolution 360
(* sites hosting the 2026 World Cup)
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