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As the debate over NFL playing surfaces continues, the league introduced a plan that aims to bring more consistency to all stadiums.
The new enhanced standards will have to be met by 2028, according to the NFL, and will be set through lab and field testing.
Nick Pappas, an NFL field director, shared some details about the plans for the program rollout.
Each team will be provided with “a library of approved and accredited NFL fields” before the 2026 season begins. Any new field will immediately have to meet those standards, and all teams will have two years to achieve them. Both grass and synthetic turf fields will be subject to the new standards.
Most artificial surfaces are replaced every two or three years, Pappas said. Natural fields can have a shorter usage span and are often replaced several times during a single season.
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Pappas added that the fields will have undergone extensive testing and been approved by a joint committee with the NFLPA.
“It’s sort of a red, yellow, green effect, where we’re obviously trying to phase out fields that we have determined to be less ideal than newer fields coming into the industry,” he said.
“This is a big step for us. This is something that I think has been a great outcome from the Joint Surfaces Committee of the work, the deployment and development of devices determining the appropriate metrics and ultimately providing us with a way to substantiate the quality of fields more so than we ever have in the past.”
Pappas said fields have been tested in labs and on site using two main tools. One is called the BEAST, which is a traction testing device that replicates the movements of an NFL player. The other is called the STRIKE Impact Tester, which helps determine the firmness of each field.
The league’s goal is to find fields that are as consistent as possible for all 30 NFL stadiums and at each stadium throughout the season. Pappas said the “key pillars” for a field are optimized playability, reducing injury risk and player feedback.
The NFL has no plans to require natural grass fields. The league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, said there are no “statistically significant differences” in lower extremity injuries or concussions that can be attributed to the type of playing surface or a specific surface despite widespread preferences by players for grass fields and complaints about surfaces such as the one at MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and Jets play.
“The surface is only one driver of these lower extremity injuries,” Sills said. “There are a lot of other factors, including player load and previous history and fatigue, positional adaptability and cleats that are worn. So, surfaces are a component, but it is a complex equation.”
The natural grass field for the upcoming Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, has been growing at a sod farm located a couple hours east of the Bay Area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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