Players urge league to nix turf, go with grass
Aaron Rodgers has hit the ground in every NFL stadium except one. And while the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field has delivered its share of bumps and bruises, the venues with artificial turf have been even rougher on Rodgers’ nearly 39-year-old body.
“I do think it’s time to go all grass throughout the league,” the four-time MVP said Tuesday, echoing a growing sentiment that’s become a major talking point around the NFL.
Players Association President JC Tretter called on six venues to immediately change their playing surfaces last weekend, saying the artificial turf in those stadiums results in higher injury rates when comparing non-contact injuries and lower extremity injuries like sprained ankles and torn knee ligaments.
Players from Seattle to Miami, from New England to Los Angeles, have loudly backed Tretter. Rodgers, Green Bay’s 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback who has played in every stadium except Las Vegas, thinks there’s a way for the league to pivot to grass quickly.
“A lot of money in this league,” he said. “It’s about cost. I don’t know how much that would cost . ... But the league’s been doing pretty well.”
The NFL hasn’t acknowledged a need for new sod. Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy for the NFL, said in a statement Saturday that injury rates are approximately the same on grass and turf.
The data provided by the league did not distinguish between the three types of turf used: monofilament, dual fiber and slit film. Tretter specifically took exception with the slit-film surfaces used in Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New Orleans and New York.
Fourteen of the NFL’s 30 venues still use a version of synthetic turf. The Hellas Matrix Turf used in Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles is widely considered the best. It’s created using a textured and twisted monofilament fiber.
Switching from artificial turf to grass would be expensive, as Rodgers suggested. It would cost roughly $500,000 for demolition, new rock underlayment and irrigation (drainage could be reused) and another $350,000 for lay-and-play sod. Coldweather teams, including those playing indoors, would be lucky if the new grass lasted a month before needing to be resodded.
A potential compromise would be placing thick-cut sod on top of the fake stuff and swapping it out a few times over the course of a football season.
Any tweak would be a welcome relief for most players.
“I do know that after having surgery, and when I go out there and play on turf fields, it’s different,” Cincinnati Bengals nose tackle D.J. Reader said. “It’s a lot more pounding. I get a lot more achy after games.”