Artificial Turf vs Natural Grass

Should Artificial Turf be removed from professional and collegiate levels of American Football?

turf is the cheaper option, but that does not mean it's the best.

• Natural grass should be prioritized over artificial turf in professional and mostly collegiate levels of football
• Turf should be a secondary option for teams rather than being thrown out.
• Studies show that injuries are more common on turf, Players enjoy grass more, and well funded teams can afford to take care of and have a proper grass field.

studies show that injuries are more common on turf

• “When combining injuries for the 2021 and 2022 season, the incidence rate of lower extremity injury was 1.22 injuries/game for natural grass and 1.42 injuries/game for artificial turf. The odds of a season-ending surgery were found to be significantly higher on artificial turf compared with natural grass, while additional variables, including weather, age, position, week of injury occurrence, and history of prior injury, did not influence the odds of season-ending surgery” (Venishetty et al).
• It can be seen with this study that in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, more injuries happened on turf than grass.

Players enjoy grass more

• ''NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell said in a statement released Wednesday morning. ‘The players overwhelmingly prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf. It is an issue that has been near the top of the players’ list during my team visits and one I have raised with the NFL” (Stapleton)
• The players and those who represent them have advocated for natural grass to be implemented over turf both very recently and a while ago.

well funded teams can afford proper grass

• Turf is cheaper and can be used for a lot of sports, which makes it an easier option for organizations with lower funding, like high schools and lower level collegiate schools. (Gould)
• The study suggests that while artificial turf is a good choice for teams with limited money, natural grass should be prioritized for well-funded teams that can afford proper maintenance. (Gould)
• This shows that organizations that have the proper budget to maintain grass, like higher level collegiate schools and NFL teams, should prioritize grass on their fields since it is the better option.

""Turf is actually safer than grass""

• They studied for over 15 years and a total of 2,224 games of collegiate football. Using a heavyweight artificial infill system in collegiate football actually led to fewer and less severe surface-related injuries. It also resulted in fewer imaging tests and surgeries compared to natural grass fields. The results show that using heavyweight artificial turf at the collegiate level is beneficial in reducing injuries compared to natural grass (Meyers et al.)
• This brings up turf not being thrown out
• This looked at all levels of college rather than high levels

Natural grass should be prioritized over artificial turf in professional and mostly collegiate levels of football because studies show that injuries are more common on turf, Players enjoy grass more, and wealthy teams can afford to take care of and have a proper grass field.

Should Artificial Turf be removed from high levels of American Football?

• It shouldn't be tossed out, but natural grass should be prioritized

The evidence strongly supports the continued use and prioritizing of natural grass, particularly in the NFL settings. The health of the players should always come first, and in this case, the safer option in natural grass.