The World Cup is coming to the United States in 2026, and with it comes a glaring question for the NFL: If the world's biggest soccer tournament can demand natural grass fields, why can't America's most popular league keep them year-round?
Nearly a dozen NFL stadiums will roll out pristine grass fields for the World Cup next month, only to rip them up and replace them with turf after the tournament ends. But players are increasingly fed up with that temporary solution. They want grass for every snap, not just for soccer's showcase event.
NFLPA executive director JC Tretter made the union's stance crystal clear during a recent appearance on the Not Just Football podcast. He revealed that polling of 1,700 players showed a staggering 92% prefer playing on grass over artificial turf. “What we want is good grass fields. Good, solid fields,” Tretter said, via ESPN's Jordan Raanan. “You don’t just want to pull out the golf course grass. On every field, you want high-quality surfaces.”
The data backs up what players have felt for years: artificial turf is linked to a slew of serious injuries, including season-ending and career-threatening ones. Yet, many NFL owners have resisted switching to grass, citing the higher maintenance costs and the need to host concerts, monster truck rallies, and other events that tear up natural surfaces.
Tretter pushed back hard on that logic. “The idea that, ‘Hey, we’re going to host these events that means we have to put a worse surface on there for you and you don’t actually get any of that money for those events we’re hosting’ isn’t a great thing for the players either,” he said. The NFLPA is likely to make field surfaces a key issue in upcoming contract talks, arguing that players bear the injury risk while owners pocket the revenue from non-football events.
The World Cup has only amplified the debate. As the NFLPA reminded owners, if the league can bring in grass for a month-long soccer tournament, it can certainly do the same for a 17-game season. The temporary grass installations at stadiums like Arrowhead, which just underwent a major overhaul ahead of 2026, prove that natural surfaces are feasible—even in multi-purpose venues.
Still, don't expect a league-wide switch overnight. With the current collective bargaining agreement years from expiring and nearly half the league's stadiums using turf, a sweeping change before the 2026 season is unlikely. Owners will continue to weigh costs, while players continue to push for safety. Tretter acknowledged that future negotiations will be key: “It’s important for us to have metrics to enforce them, making sure the stadiums are being used predominantly for football games.”
For now, the message from the locker room is loud and clear: players want grass, and they want it all season long. The World Cup may have shown the NFL what's possible, but turning that possibility into reality will take a fight—one that Tretter and the union are ready for.
