While tensions flared at the FIFA World Cup final, George Kittle was focused on something else. His social media post about the grass highlighted an important discussion around stadiums in the NFL.

Taking to X, Kittle wrote, "Grass looks great at MetLife! Can we keep it that way @NFL?? Would appreciate it thanks."

Now, MetLife was one of the 11 stadiums that were asked by the NFLPA to add natural grass in place of the turf. Of these 11, seven used artificial turf during the NFL season. That artificial turf, particularly at MetLife, was responsible for Malik Nabers’ season-ending ACL injury in Game 4 of the 2025 season.

And there's more research around the same. According to the NFLPA website, "Players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf. Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass."

That's why when Kittle posted on X, he was just the latest in a line of players asking for the NFL to bring back natural grass across the board.

Green Bay linebacker Zaire Franklin, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Washington Commanders offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, and Jets defensive lineman Harrison Phillips have also made a similar request.

The World Cup was a proof of concept if the NFL wishes to adopt this model, and it looks like the players want the same. But if that is the case, why hasn't the NFL already done so?

The logistical difficulties around using natural grass

While the players' requests are taken into consideration, natural grass in NFL stadiums poses a massive logistical challenge. As Phillips, a member of the NFLPA, agreed, climate change is one part of it, but the stadium usage itself is another aspect to this.

Take MetLife, for example. While the stadium has been used solely for soccer games in the last few weeks, that's not the case throughout the NFL season.

It hosts concerts as well that take place. And that's the case for stadiums across the United States. These events disrupt the growth of natural grass.

That's what Nick Pappas, NFL field director emphasized, "That's a really challenging thing to do is say we're going to go from a building that produces not just great football games but also community events, the opportunity for our local fans to enjoy our facility, to have a facility to be this large scale, this big, this nice, it's hard to do that with just football games throughout the season."

The ask here is clear. As George Kittle explained, "At this point, it comes down to the NFL making it a priority and choosing to invest in us as players, because our bodies are our business, which they get to capitalize on!"

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Written by

Siddharth Shirwadkar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar