When it comes to the issue of grass vs. turf (as well as any other player-related questions), it’s important for the NFL’s best players to add their voice to the cause.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the NFL’s MVP in 2024, has done so.
“I think grass is healthier for our bodies,” Allen said. “I’m to a point in my career now that when we practice inside on the artificial [surface], I can feel it the next day, and when we go out there [on grass], I feel great. I think any guy that was honest would tell you that’s how they feel. So, one, I think it’s healthier [as to] injury prevention.
“I’ve gotten numerous, numerous burns on my legs from artificial turf, like, to the point where I can’t sleep at night because it’s bubbling over and, like, it’s very painful. So I’m excited to not have to deal with that at home at least. I know we still probably will play games on the road that are turf, but if I can snap my fingers and make every field grass, that’s what I would do, for sure.”
This year, Allen and the Bills will play on artificial turf in Week 1 (at Texans), Week 5 (at Rams), Week 9 (at Vikings), Week 10 (at Jets), and Week 13 (at Patriots).
The issue of getting rug burns on fake grass is a problem. Injuries like that won’t end up in the NFL’s calculation of injury rates between grass and turf. But it’s painful. And unsanitary, especially with the billions of toxic rubber pellets and all of the other stuff (spit, sweat, blood, vomit) that end up interspersed with the plastic.
From a 2022 article published by the National Institutes of Health: “Numerous studies have shown that chemicals identified in artificial turf, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are known carcinogens, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors. . . . [F]ew laboratory and epidemiology studies have been performed on the potential health impacts of artificial turf in athletes and communities, despite the abundance of evidence of carcinogens, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors in its components.”
In other words, it’s obviously not healthy for humans to be exposed to the various components of a turf field. The compounds get in player abrasions, in their mouths, in their noses, in their eyes.
It seems inevitable that, with further research, a study will emerge linking playing on artificial turf fields with one or more specific and serious long-term health risks.
Until then, many NFL teams will opt for the fake stuff, because it’s cheaper to install and maintain — and because it’s easier to have non-football events in stadiums that use it. And all of them will hide behind the inherently misleading notion that the injury rate is identical on grass and turf.
