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Admitting the difficulties in trying to find
one solution for all 30 NFL stadiums, NFL executive vice
president of health and safety Jeff Miller told reporters the
league hopes to work with FIFA to go over research and best
practices when it comes to field compositions and the effects
each type can have on players.
"We want to take a look at the variety of surfaces that they
have and use some of the metrics that we measure against, things
like hardness, traction, (overall) performance," Miller said,
according to Front Office Sports. "For us, it's less about grass
vs. synthetic than looking at the characteristics of each and
reducing injury rates of both."
In a statement in September, NFLPA executive director Lloyd
Howell said, "Moving all stadium fields to high quality natural
grass surfaces is the easiest decision the NFL can make," before
invoking international soccer himself.
"It makes no sense that stadiums can flip over to superior grass
surfaces when the World Cup comes, or soccer clubs come to visit
for exhibition games in the summer, but inferior artificial
surfaces are acceptable for our own players," Miller said in the
statement. "This is worth the investment and it simply needs to
change now."
According to multiple reports Tuesday, the fact the United
States is hosting the World Cup in 2026 along with Canada and
Mexico -- and that FIFA is planning to utilize NFL stadiums
during the tournament -- played a role in seeking FIFA's help.
FIFA will use a hybrid grass for the World Cup, and Miller said
the league wants to narrow the different types of turf currently
used in NFL stadiums.
"I think the goal needs to be to limit the number of different
surfaces that our clubs play on, so a player has an appreciation
when he steps onto the field in one city that's going to feel
very similar to the surface that he steps on in a different city
so it doesn't feel hard or soft or slick or sticky," Miller
said, according to ESPN. "He knows what that's going to feel
like, therefore the appreciation for it is going to satisfy him
to some degree."
--Field Level Media
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