As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, the debate over turf versus natural grass in NFL stadiums is heating up again. NFL analyst Michael Holley, appearing on “Pro Football Talk” with Mike Florio, asked why stadiums that can please FIFA by ripping up turf for natural grass can’t do the same for NFL players?
NFL Stadiums Can Accommodate the World Cup With Natural Grass, but Not NFL Teams
As of September 2025, the following teams have NFL stadiums with grass:
- State Farm Stadium | Arizona Cardinals
- M&T Bank Stadium | Baltimore Ravens
- Soldier Field | Chicago Bears
- Huntington Bank Field | Cleveland Browns
- Empower Field at Mile High | Denver Broncos
- Lambeau Field | Green Bay Packers
- EverBank Stadium Field | Jacksonville Jaguars
- GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium | Kansas City Chiefs
- Allegiant Stadium | Las Vegas Raiders
- Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Dolphins
- Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia Eagles
- Acrisure Stadium | Pittsburgh Steelers
- Levi’s Stadium | San Francisco 49ers
- Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Northwest Stadium | Washington Commanders
Meanwhile, the rest of the league doesn’t and has turf. This is important because turf fields are often perceived as sites of increased injury.
However, during a call reviewing the 2025-26 NFL season, NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills shared injury data, which showed that artificial turf had an injury rate of 0.43, while grass had 0.42, per NFL.com’s Judy Battista.
Florio brought this point up but added that the statistic lacks context, such as wear-and-tear, how much it hurts, how it feels, and the difficulty of “getting out of bed the next morning.”
During Holley’s comments about players potentially wondering why this is feasible for FIFA, but not for their own teams, Florio is seen making a gesture about money.
“I wonder if the power of FIFA kind of translates to the NFL,” Holley said. “Like, if it’s clear that you can take out field turf and put in natural grass, and I think this is what the players are saying. Well, if you can do that for the World Cup in this stadium and you’re willing to do it, why won’t you do it for us?”
NFL teams can make plenty of money directly and indirectly by accommodating FIFA and the World Cup, such as worldwide exposure, potential sponsorships, hosting future events, and simply being a stadium that hosted one of the games; the legacy of it all.
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Later in the clip, Holley and Florio discuss this, and Florio cites an article in the “Boston Globe” about what NFL owners get out of hosting the games. Florio notes that these teams aren’t just doing this for “civic pride” and adds, “Any time they don’t tell you how much money they’re making, that means it’s more than whatever we would otherwise think it is.”
One thing is for sure: This is another piece of evidence to cite in the argument over grass versus turf as the NFL’s debate rages on.
