Earlier this month, Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb took to his social media handle to back the NFL’s growing grass-field movement, sharing a post claiming 92% of players prefer grass over turf with a simple plea: “Please @NFL.” However, despite that support, it appears that the owner, Jerry Jones, isn’t convinced of the idea.

At the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix earlier this year, the Dallas Cowboys owner made it clear that keeping natural grass after the World Cup was never seriously on the table.

"No, we have more flexibility with the way we handle our surface at the stadium. We have no belief that it's any safer to play on a grass [field] or a turf. We are ambiguous as to the safety of it," Jones said.

The owner believes that turf is both economical and safe for the players, while also benefiting them financially.

"The turf, actually, like many things, improves the economics of being able to play this game, and our players are the biggest beneficiaries of all. They get the best benefit when we do good things financially; the players are benefiting. So I'm working for you, baby, OK, if you're a player,” Jones concluded his statement.

While the concept of grass all year sounds good, the reality is a bit different. Aside from climate issues, these big stadiums host some of the biggest concerts, college football, and other events that can make maintaining natural grass throughout the NFL season extremely challenging.

However, CeeDee Lamb is not wrong. The league revealed that between 2012 and 2018, there was 28% more non-contact lower-body injuries on turf than on grass, with knee injuries alone rising by 32%. The numbers are in favour of the players, but the owners don't think it matters.

NFLPA Takes Aim at Jerry Jones and Others in Grass vs. Turf Battle

Natural grass may be coming for the World Cup, but NFL players aren't buying the long-term commitment. With an overwhelming number favoring grass over turf, concerns are mounting, and the NFLPA is turning up the heat on the league.

“The temporary installation of natural grass fields for the World Cup is a choice by certain NFL team owners to do for soccer players what they refuse to do for NFL players,” the NFLPA said in a statement last Wednesday, as per Talksport.

The union argues that the technology and expertise to maintain a grassy environment already exist, and since the players demand the grass for their own safety, their voices should be heard.

“We have seen the meaningful investments made to meet the standard for international athletes and global events.NFL players—who regularly compete on these fields, help fund these stadiums, and whose work makes the league what it is today—deserve the same commitment to quality grass fields,” the statement concluded.

That said, will the owners prefer grass fields for the players, or will turf continue to dominate? What do you think?

Read more at the Cleveland Browns Community!

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi