The NFL wants the issue of grass vs. turf to be framed as a real debate. It’s not.
Players want grass. New NFL Players Association president and Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin thinks it’s possible to get grass in every NFL stadium.
“We see right now they’re changing all the fields for soccer to come over (for the World Cup) and soccer players don’t play on turf,” Reeves-Maybin tells Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free-Press. “I think it’s definitely a thing that can happen, and it’s proven to be a safer and healthier option. I think as time’s gone on, we’ve put player safety, health and safety to the forefront, and I think the surface that we play on plays a huge part in that.”
It can happen, in theory. But it won’t be easy.
It will be expensive, especially in closed-roof stadiums that don’t have a field that can be slid outside and properly grown and maintained, with real sunlight.
The fact that multiple NFL stadiums will convert to pristine, high-end grass surfaces in order to host FIFA World Cup games makes the argument tougher for the league. But it all comes down to bargaining power. If NFL venues want to host those matches, NFL venues must have acceptable grass surfaces.
For NFL games, there’s no equivalent business impetus for the owners to do what the players want. It’s something that could, in theory, be handled at the bargaining table. If it’s an issue on which management simply won’t yield, then the players would have to be willing to strike over it.
They likely won’t.
That’s the biggest problem for the NFLPA. The owners can and will shut the sport down for a year to get what they want. The players won’t.
Until they will, they likely won’t be getting grass in all stadiums — unless they make some other major concession that the owners deem to be a fair tradeoff.
