Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Artificial turf has become a very hot topic of conversation among NFL fans and players in recent years due to the belief it’s responsible for more injuries than its natural counterpart. However, the league is pushing back against that narrative with some new data that seems to conveniently ignore a pretty vital aspect of the conversation.
It’s been close to 60 years since an NFL game was played on artificial turf for the first time when the Houston Oilers found a new home at the Astrodome in 1968.
That “AstroTurf” was a notoriously unforgiving surface that was essentially glorified carpet placed over concrete, and while it was gradually phased out in favor of the more realistic fake turf that’s become the industry standard, the stuff that’s replaced it has also garnered plenty of criticism.
As things currently stand, 16 of the 30 stadiums that are home to an NFL team have artificial turf. In 2020, the NFLPA sounded the alarm while calling attention to data that showed the injury rate (especially of the non-contact variety) was significantly higher at those venues than ones with natural grass, and a survey that was conducted in 2024 showed 92% of players were in favor of banning it.
The NFL has attempted to downplay those concerns while asserting data shows the difference between the two surfaces has become increasingly negligible, and it has done so once again while once again declining to directly address one of the most significant factors.
The NFL claims there’s virtually no difference between the number of injuries suffered on artificial turf and natural grass while declining to focus on the severity
All injuries are not created equal, and one of the biggest reasons artificial turf has been targeted is its predisposition for causing the non-contact ailments that tend to be particularly debilitating; knees and ankles seem to be disproportionately susceptible, and ligament tears are almost universally season-ending.
Multiple studies have found a link between fake surfaces and higher rates of ACL tears, including one that was published in 2024 using data from the 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons, which bluntly concluded “athletes were more likely to get injured on artificial surfaces and that artificial turf dramatically increased the likelihood of sustaining a serious injury requiring surgery.”
However, it does not appear that the NFL seems to be overly concerned based on its most recent update on this particular front, as Judy Battista passed along a new claim from the league that asserts the injury rates on turf and grass are “statistically the same.”
The NFL says the injury rate on artificial surfaces is statistically the same as on grass fields. Injury rate is .43 on artificial surfaces, .42 on grass.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) January 30, 2026
The data was shared in a media call on Thursday where NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alan Sills discussed injury trends in the league during the most recent season.
Stills noted ACL tears were down to a seven-year low with 32 occurrences (down 25% from last season) while adding non-contact injuries have been reduced to a rate of .34, which is half of what was recorded between 2018 and 2022.
He was also the person who shared the aforementioned stat that showed injuries on turf and grass were “mathematically the same,” although he stressed the league is trying to move away from focusing on the type of surface and taking a closer look at variations in field conditions at all 30 stadiums.
BroBible also reached out to a representative for the NFL’s Player Health & Safety department, who added, “With respect to both number and severity of the injury there is no difference.”
It does appear the NFL is trending in the right direction on this front, but there still may be some work to do.