The NFL is always looking for ways to improve and make the game safer for the players. Each offseason, the NFL and NFLPA sit down and discuss topics that could make the game better for everyone involved.
One of the topics that has been highly discussed is the playing surface, more specifically, turf vs. grass. There is no question where the players stand in this debate, as grass has been their preferred choice for years. However, whenever the NFLPA discusses surface changes, the league always seems to find an excuse.
NFLPA Director J.C. Tretter Discusses Grass Fields
The new Executive Director of the NFLPA is JC Tretter. He is tasked with negotiating with the league and trying to give the players everything they ask for. One of those things is all-grass surfaces, which the NFL is not ready to cave on.
According to NFL insider Albert Breer, Tretter revealed that a large majority of NFL players want grass fields. “It’s not where I stand, it’s where our guys stand — 92% of our guys prefer grass,” Tretter said. “It makes it easy for where I stand … it’s hard to find 92% of people that agree on anything, and we’ve got 92% to agree on what surface they prefer.”
There have been many studies showing that grass surfaces are far safer than turf; however, most NFL teams are unwilling to switch to grass.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has shed some light on this matter, as many turf surfaces have been replaced by grass for the tournament. That alone shows Tretter that the switch can be made for an NFL game, but teams do not want to do it.
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Tretter continued, “And then I think the big part of what FIFA shows is there’s always been multiple excuses made. One of which was feasibility of, Hey, it’s not possible, it’s an indoor stadium. We can’t grow grass here. It’s impossible. [The World Cup] has taken that out. It’s feasible. Now it’s really a choice.”
It seems that much of the reason teams don’t want to change is the cost of maintaining the grass.
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Tretter added, “And that choice clearly comes down to cost. And there’s two types of costs. One is the cost of upkeep and installation. But clearly they’re O.K. doing that for this event, they just seem not O.K. doing it for the actual employees they pay. And then the other cost, which kind of frustrates guys, is it’s the trade-off cost of potentially not being able to do other outside-of-football events the teams make money off of. And the players see none of that [money].”
The players should be frustrated that NFL teams have changed the surface at their stadiums for the World Cup but not for their actual teams. This comes across as if they don’t want what is best for their players and are only making decisions to make as much money as possible.
The NFLPA is just looking for the safest surface possible for the players, and grass is their choice. The NFL’s unwillingness to switch to all-grass fields could lead to ongoing animosity between the league and its players.
