Posted on 07/18/2026 7:48:36 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
As the World Cup winds down ahead of Sunday’s final, NFL players are taking to social media to express their desire to play on the type of natural grass fields the tournament used throughout the summer.
Players across the league this week attached the hashtag “WorthTheCost” to posts asking why grass fields were used in World Cup games played in NFL stadiums, while they aren’t afforded the same surfaces in many of those same venues. Among the players who posted the hashtag on Friday: Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Washington Commanders tackle Laremy Tunsil, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen and New York Jets defensive lineman Harrison Phillips. Numerous other players added additional comments in their messages.
“If stadiums can make grass work for the World Cup, they can make it work for NFL players,” multiple NFL players posted on X. “We’re #WorthTheCost.”
Reached by The Athletic, the NFL Players Association pointed back to a statement the union put out in mid-June as the World Cup was set to begin.
“The temporary installation of natural grass fields for the World Cup is a choice by certain NFL team owners to do for soccer players what they refuse to do for NFL players,” the NFLPA said in a statement on June 10. “It’s no longer a question of capability: the technology exists, the expertise exists and the resources exist to install the high-level grass fields that our players overwhelmingly prefer.
“We have seen the meaningful investments made to meet the standard for international athletes and global events. NFL players — who regularly compete on these fields, help fund these stadiums, and whose work makes the league what it is today — deserve the same commitment to quality grass fields.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sunlamps and sprinklers. If guys can grow weed in their closet and NFL can grow grass in a dome.
They usually replace the grass a couple times a year in the stadiums that use it. So maintaining over the long season isn’t an issue.
I guess they forgot about all of the mud-bowls from years gone by.
Worth the cost...
Tell that to NYS taxpayers who are on the hook for $800 mil for the Bills’ new stadium.
My God, that’s some chutzpah.
You sure about that or are you just spouting off? I’d much rather take a big spill on soft grass than on asphalt with a cheep carpet on top.
So maybe the NFL players should demand the same.
That’s the story. Honestly they put it in the CBA, although that’s not coming up for negotiation for a bit. Although really the NFL should protect their investment. The data is there, turf spawns injuries, bad injuries, season ending and career ending injuries. The NFL shouldn’t the players to demand it.
Natural grass works for the Arizona Cardinals, and they’re in a desert.
The engineering is amazing.
The NFL after the World Cup is finally over and they can revert all the natural grass back to artificial turf for the league's biggest stars to tear their ACLs on pic.twitter.com/p6PJhp31Yd— NFL Memes (@NFLMemes) July 20, 2026
And the sunlight can blind the players again in JerryWorld.
Yes, but it probably would not work as well in Minny, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Foxboro, MA or Green Bay in January.
Very surprised to see you guys even watch NFL anymore. Why would you support such an organization?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.