WASHINGTON, June 28 — The record shows a straightforward challenge from San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, one amplified by the NFL Players Association. If FIFA can compel every NFL stadium hosting a World Cup game to install natural grass that meets its standards, Kittle wants to know why the league cannot do the same for its own players, every week of the season. “We’ve made it clear that we prefer grass fields,” Kittle said, in a statement posted to the NFLPA’s X account.
“We know it’s better on our bodies. And clearly we know it’s possible based on everything that went into putting down grass fields for the World Cup in each stadium.” According to the NFLPA’s own survey, 92 percent of players preferred to play on grass.
The union has been pushing the league to require all 32 teams to play on natural surfaces. Kittle has been one of the more outspoken players on the issue. The timeline of the dispute is nearing a boiling point.
FIFA has demonstrated that temporary grass fields can be installed in stadiums designed for artificial turf. The World Cup is making it happen.
The question Kittle and the union are posing: why can’t the NFL? The league’s answer, according to sources familiar with the position of some owners, is rooted in economics and logistics. NFL stadiums host more than just football games.
They host a litany of other events. To remove and replace the sod before each home game would, in the view of stadium owners, defeat the purpose of switching to grass in the first place. They are not inclined to sacrifice more money for a playing surface they do not view as a problem.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones put the league’s ambivalence on the record. “No, 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 a grass [field] or a turf. We are ambiguous as to the safety of it,” Jones said. That position puts the NFL directly at odds with the vast majority of its players, who cite both preference and injury data.
The NFLPA survey is clear on the preference. The World Cup installation proves the engineering is feasible.
What remains to be seen is whether the league will move on the issue, or whether the pressure from the union and from high-profile players like Kittle will force a change. For now, the NFL appears content to let the grass grow where it may.
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