Why The NFL's approach to Field Surfaces Is Uneven

by JC Tretter 4/19/23

For more than a decade, players have been speaking out about their strong preference to work on natural grass over synthetic playing surfaces. Players have shared stories about how their bodies feel after playing on turf compared to grass, and the injury data for nearly a decade supports those anecdotes.
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However, in early November of last year, there was a large media offensive by the NFL to pushback against the historical data and players’ experiences. The following slide was distributed to the media, and NFL staff and owners were aggressive in their claims that the fight over which is safer, grass or turf, was no longer an issue.

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​At that time, on a conference call with media members, the NFL’s Jeff Miller stated that “the questions have changed,” referencing questions about which field surface is safer, grass or turf.

We as a union believe that knowledge is power, and I wanted to take the time to share additional injury data that can help give a broader view of the often-discussed issue.
Here’s what the injury data has looked like over the past decade, using a zoomed-out version of the graph that was shared with ESPN last year:

​What this graph shows is that for six consecutive years, injury rates on synthetic surfaces were far higher than on natural surfaces.
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