The NFL is facing renewed pressure to replace turf with natural grass across its stadiums, with the push intensifying as the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup continues across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament is more than a week old, and several prominent NFL venues including AT&T Stadium, SoFi Stadium, and Metlife Stadium have hosted matches on temporary grass pitches even though most of those buildings normally play on turf.
The NFL Players' Association has noticed the temporary grass pitches and wants the league to have all-grass fields, believing they are better for longterm player health. The NFLPA argued:
Tomorrow, the World Cup kicks off. Over the course of the tournament, 11 NFL stadiums will host 78 soccer matches on high-quality grass fields installed to meet FIFA demands. When the World Cup ends, many of these same stadiums will go back to turf despite 92% of NFL players preferring natural grass. If these extensive field changes are worth the cost for a month-long tournament, why aren't they worth the cost for the NFL players who primarily compete in these stadiums?
Grass fields are supposedly better for avoiding injuries, and they also look better on TV.
Ryan Glasspiegel weighed in on social media, calling on the league to pay attention to how the World Cup grass looks on TV.
I know they don't care but the NFL should take note of how amazing all the grass pitches look on TV for the World Cup and consider mandating them too.
According to posts on social media, fans have echoed that sentiment.
All sports fields above high school level should be grass. Yes field turf is cheaper but it stinks.
