Josh Allen leads NFL push for natural grass at every stadium
Players and the NFL Players Association are pressing the league to favour grass surfaces, while cost and maintenance continue to shape owners’ decisions.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and other NFL players are urging the league to use natural grass at every stadium, citing painful burns and what they describe as greater wear from artificial turf.
Allen made the comments as the Bills prepared to play at their new Highmark Stadium, which uses natural grass. He said artificial turf had caused repeated burns on his legs and that he would make every field grass if he could.
The campaign has drawn public support from players including San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa and Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. Fox Sports reports that players and the NFL Players Association overwhelmingly favour natural grass, although no supporting survey figures were provided.
The debate follows the FIFA World Cup, for which seven NFL stadiums were converted from turf to grass before being changed back for the NFL season. Sixteen of the league’s 30 facilities are reported to feature grass in 2026, while 11 of the 18 facilities built since 2000 have artificial surfaces.
The central obstacle is financial and operational. Natural grass requires year-round maintenance and frequent resodding, while artificial fields also require maintenance, including replacement of infill. The source says grass fields generally last about seven events, compared with three to seven years for artificial fields.
The NFL says modern playing surfaces are substantially more advanced than the AstroTurf used decades ago. That technical progress has not resolved the underlying dispute, with players continuing to argue that prioritising their working conditions should outweigh the additional cost of natural grass.
