Why the hell are turf fields still in use in the NFL?

If you're a fan of the NFL, you've likely seen the headlines, news stories, or even YouTube videos discussing the dangers of turf fields, especially the higher injury rates that they bring. You've likely seen outrage by fanbases of teams on this matter, like in 2020 when the fanbase of the San Francisco 49ers was absolutely pissed when most of their team sustained season-ending injuries at MetLife field. In one game. Mostly in the first half. And the kicker? MetLife was a turf field. The point is that turf fields in the NFL are almost universally hated.

And they most definitely should. Plain and simple, turf fields are a relic of the past that should stay as such- something from the previous eras of the NFL. It's like if the NFL today used helmets made in the 1980s and 1990s: it wouldn't make any sense and would be flat-out dangerous.

And that's the problem with turf fields: they're dangerous. According to the NFLPA (National Football League Players Association), when playing on turf fields, NFL players have a 32% higher chance of non-contact injuries to the knee and an unbelievable 69% higher chance of non-contact injuries to the ankle and foot area. These are the injuries suffered by players like Aaron Rodgers or Tre'Davious White this season, where they suffered season-ending injuries solely due to the turf. We saw this during the 2020 NFL Season, wherein, in the first half of a game between the Jets and the 49ers, most of the 49ers' defensive starters suffered season-ending non-contact injuries, derailing their entire season.

And you may be wondering, "Why do turf fields cause a higher chance of injury?". Well, it's simple: according to the NFLPA, "On synthetic surfaces, there is less give, meaning our feet, ankles, and knees absorb the force, which makes injury more likely to follow." Essentially, you have to dig your feet in deeper into the turf when playing, causing a higher chance of injuries that happen when too much stress is put on these body parts. Like ACL tears and Achilles Tendon tears.

So why? Why in the world, despite knowing the immense risks, does the NFL allow for turf fields to still exist in the league? And on top of that, why do exactly half of the NFL teams put an old, crappy playing surface in their state-of-the-art stadiums (except FedEx Field, that place sucks) made for their highly-paid players? To understand this, we have to go back a couple of years. All the way back to the 1965-1966 NFL season, when the Astrodome was introduced to the NFL world.

The Astrodome was the first fully indoor NFL stadium to be used by a team, as it housed the Houston Oilers. Along with being the first fully indoor stadium, the Astrodome was the first field to use turf in its stadium. The reason for this back in the 60s was that it was literally impossible to grow grass in a dome. No matter what they did, it wouldn't be up to the standard the NFL requires for natural grass.

Looking back, the Astrodome was truly a pioneer, and it most definitely shaped modern-day NFL stadiums. Now, indoor stadiums are just as common as outdoor ones. But on top of that, it taught NFL teams one thing: turf was much cheaper to maintain than natural grass. Even in stadiums where natural grass could be used instead of turf fields, NFL owners started to install turf fields as a means to cut costs. So NFL owners that had indoor stadiums and stadiums where grass would be harder to grow installed turf, and everything was made easier.

But this all changed on August 1st, 2006 when State Farm Stadium was introduced to the world. It was the first NFL stadium to have a field that could roll out of the stadium and into the sun, allowing for natural grass to grow. They had found a solution to the problem that required turf to be used in the first place. So with this development in stadium technology, turf should've been phased out, right? After all, it had become outdated technology, like helmets from the 80s and 90s. So yeah, there shouldn't have been any more turf, right?

Hell no.

NFL owners wanted to keep their turf fields, and for one reason: it was cheaper. Turf fields required much less maintenance, so NFL owners wanted to keep them because they would save money and add more to their bottom line. And this was still the case despite the fact that, by the mid-2010s, we all knew turf was dangerous. These NFL owners would make massive stadiums with state-of-the-art technology to house their modern-day, highly-paid gladiators but not want to spend the money on maintaining a grass field. And it's not like they had any valid excuses, either. For those who said they couldn't grow grass in an indoor stadium, State Farm Stadium shut them right up; it was indeed possible and easily feasible. And for the owners whose teams played up north (like the Buffalo Bums... er, Bills), those owners who said it was impossible to grow natural grass in the harsh winter up north, these excuses were also proved to be utter B.S. when you looked at teams like the Steelers, who played on real grass despite being subject to some of the most harsh winters in the NFL.

This is absolutely unacceptable. NFL owners should not be allowed to jeopardize the safety of their NFL players just to save money. Let's call it as it is: NFL owners, and the NFL as a whole, is allowing for the use of outdated technology, and it's having a profound impact on the players in the NFL, the teams, and the league as a whole.