‘Time to go all grass’: Aaron Rodgers urges the NFL to BAN artificial surfaces across the league as players continue to express concerns over higher rate of injuries on synthetic turf
- Green Bay’s QB, however, admitted he doesn’t feel like the move would happen
- Out of the 32 NFL teams, half (16) of them play home games on artificial turf
- Last week, the NFLPA publicly called for the ‘immediate ban’ of ‘slim-film turf’
- The NFL says the chances of injury remain the same, regardless of the playing surface
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Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers has called on the NFL to make it mandatory to only play on natural grass surfaces, although he doubts it’ll happen anytime soon.
‘No, honestly, I don’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to the league making that decision without some sort of big vote and gripes from certain owners who don’t want to spend the money,’ last year’s MVP told ESPN on Tuesday.
Out of the 32 NFL teams, half (16) of them play home games on artificial turf in 14 stadiums across the country due to the MetLife Stadium being home to both the Giants and the Jets and the SoFi Stadium being shared between the Rams and the Chargers.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has called on the ban of artificial turf for players’ safety
Across the NFL, 14 venues like the MetLife Stadium, home to the Jets & Giants, use artificial turf
Five turf distributors battle it out to be these teams’ main turf provider, with FieldTurf being the most popular. The company supplies the Falcons, Panthers, Lions, Patriots, Saints and the Seahawks.
On the other hand, the Titans, Commanders, Buccaneers, 49ers, Steelers, Cardinals, Ravens, Bears, Browns, Broncos, Jaguars, Chiefs, Raiders and Dolphins play on actual grass.
Rodgers’ comments come after the NFL’s Players Association (NFLPA) expressed concerns over the imbalanced frequency of injuries happening on an artificial surface called ‘slim-film turf’ versus those happening on normal grass over the weekend.
Over the weekend, the NFL’s Players Association (NFLPA) said it wanted to ban ‘slim film turf’
The Chicago Bears are among several teams that are provided normal grass for their games
Players called for the ‘Immediate Replacement and Ban of all Slit Film Turf,’ which is used by seven teams, six of them who are sponsored by FieldTurf.
The league, however, has previously countered this argument, saying the chances of ‘noncontact injuries’ to any part of the leg remain the same, regardless of playing on natural or artificial grass, according to internal data provided to and reviewed by ESPN.
‘I do think it’s time to go all grass throughout the league,’ Rodgers said. ‘I think you would see less of these noncontact injuries that we see on some of the surfaces, and I think that it’d be a good step in the right direction towards player safety to make the requirement for every field to be grass.’
Packers have used a hybrid grass (with artificial fibers) called Desso GrassMaster since 2007
As things stand, there are no set rules or preferences from the league that favor one type of playing surface over the other, so it is up to each stadium to decide.
The Packers, who play at Lambeau Field, use a hybrid type of grass, meaning the surface is composed of natural grass with artificial fibers.
The team’s provider has been Desso GrassMaster since 2007.
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