NFL to implement new field standards after years of criticism for subpar surfaces

Key Highlights

• NFL field director Nick Pappas' comment, via the AP:“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.”While much of the past criticism has been aimed at some of the notoriously hard artificial turf fields, it's unclear if these standards will force teams to move on from such surfaces. Players and their union have maligned surfaces such as MetLife Stadium's FieldTurf for years, claiming they increase injury risk.
• On the other end of the spectrum, there are also natural grass fields like the Washington Commanders' Northwest Stadium that have come under fire in the past for wearing out to a dangerous level.
• It ultimately comes down to quality, and some teams simply don't want to pay the cost of natural grass maintenance. The players certainly noticed when some NFL stadiums that use artificial turf said they would change their surface to grass for the 2026 World Cup in North America. Artificial turf like this from MetLife Stadium is a sight few NFL players enjoy.