The debate between grass versus turf for NFL playing surfaces is littered with public misinformation. There's a reason essentially every brand-new NFL stadium that's set to open within the next few years is installing turf as their preferred playing surface. The cutting-edge product has come a long way since the basic versions installed during the 1970s and 80s.
On a mission to educate myself on the real grass versus artificial turf debate, I sat down with Dr. Trey Brindle, Director of Research & Innovation at Shaw Sports Turf and Shawgrass for a lengthy conversation. Shaw Sports Turf's state-of-the-art product is installed at the Baltimore Ravens' practice facility. It's the same turf Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy clocked a record-breaking time of 4.21 seconds at Lucas Oil Stadium at this year's NFL Scouting Combine.
Shaw Sports Turf counted another success this past October, as the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks competed in the World Series on their product. With NFL franchises quickly catching up to its benefits, I went in search of answers.
JM: There's a common public misconception that injuries are likelier to occur on artificial turf versus natural grass. How have your in-depth studies proven this to be false?
Dr. Trey Brindle: The misconception is just that—incorrect. Athletic injury is complex, and to blame an injury event solely on the field is a blatant oversimplification. There are many possible factors that go into an athletic injury event.
Take for example: Aaron Rodgers, who suffered an Achilles tendon tear during the first half of the first game last year at MetLife Stadium’s artificial turf field. The field was quickly cited as a major contributor to that injury; however, there were many factors, some unseen, that contributed to his injury. For one, Rodgers was tackled. Whenever there is contact with another player, the risk for injury increases. However, what most people do not appreciate is that Rodgers also had a history of foot injuries which is a risk factor for Achilles tendon tears in NFL players.
Also, during that pre-season, Rodgers injured his calf muscle on the same side of his subsequent tendon tear. The Achilles tendon anchors the calf muscle to the heel bone. When that muscle is weakened, due to musculoskeletal injury, more demands may be placed on the tendon to absorb ankle forces during movement. Once those things are appreciated, a clearer picture starts to emerge of why that injury happened and how it could have been prevented.
Rodgers’ injury is just one of many injury incidents in the past few years where artificial turf surfaces were quickly considered a major contributor in sports media.
On the other hand, there are many scientific studies that offer a more comprehensive approach to this question. One example is a recent review published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine that presented the findings of many scientific studies which investigated injury rates of sports played on artificial versus natural fields.
The overwhelming majority, 89%, of investigations of injury rates during sport reported similar or reduced leg injuries on the artificial turf that is used today versus natural grass fields. Even the NFL’s own data reflects this, which is why Jeff Miller, the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs & Policy, said as part of a longer statement during the 2022 regular season, “there was no difference between the number of injuries on synthetic surfaces versus grass.”
At Shaw Sports Turf, we continue to study the latest scientific research and are even generating new knowledge with our university partners to advance our artificial turf development.
JM: Why do you think the misconception exists? NFL players and the NFLPA also buy into this belief by regularly claiming they prefer to play on grass.
Dr. Trey Brindle: The dichotomy is that while we hear this from the NFLPA, we also hear from players who prefer artificial turf for its speed. The fastest agility times are consistently recorded on artificial turf fields. Just this past season, the 40-yard dash record was broken when Xavier Worthy clocked a time of 4.21 seconds on Shaw Sports Turf at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But look, the misconception that injuries occur at a greater rate on artificial turf versus natural grass is one thing, but the players’ field preference is another topic. Regarding the misconception about injury rates on fields, I think it stems from two places. One stems from the previous ‘generations’ of artificial turf surfaces, the original short fiber turf with no infill or padding that were common in the 1970s and 80s.
In many cases, these previous generation turf surfaces were reported to have an increased injury rate during sport compared to natural grass surfaces. The other is the fact that artificial turf is an engineered product. Simply due to the manufactured nature of the product, I think there will be a greater inclination to view the artificial turf field as a contributor to the injury than for the natural grass field.
For example, during last season's Super Bowl, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles tendon in a wild non-contact scenario, while entering the field from the sidelines in between plays. This injury garnered lots of media attention due to the importance of Greenlaw’s talents to the 49ers’ success in the biggest game of the year; however, there was scant reporting of the field as a contributing factor. I think the inclination to take Greenlaw’s injury at face value was because it occurred on a natural grass field.
Regarding the player's preference, that is real. The NFLPA reports that a sizable percentage of NFL players prefer playing on natural grass versus artificial turf. At Shaw Sports Turf, we listen to the Athlete, which is why we have spent years researching what makes a quality sports field. We are constantly innovating and applying new artificial turf technology to our products with a focus on delivering what is expected out of a quality playing surface so Athletes can focus on the game they love.
JM: How is Shaw Sports Turf and their cutting-edge technology offering a solution?
Dr. Trey Brindle: There are many avenues we take in efforts to optimize our products for the Athlete and the game. One is our revolutionary GameOn technology. With this technology, we are now able to integrate field line packages and enhanced graphics during the manufacturing process.
The traditional way of installing turf fields is to lay down a mostly green field, then cut-in and seam inlays, which include lines, numbers, hash marks, and logos that are different colors. With GameOn’s integrated field line packages and enhanced graphics technologies, there can be a massive reduction in inlays, contributing to the consistency of the playing field.
Another technology we use to offer our customers the opportunity to make informed decisions is the Playability Assessment Tool. In the artificial turf market today, there are a multitude of products and options available. In fact, there are over 10,000 combinations of parts that make up an artificial turf surface; namely, fiber constructions, infill recipes, and underlayment pads.
So, it is helpful to have a compass to navigate through the vast number of options so that the desired surface for the Athlete and the game can be identified.
The Playability Assessment Tool is a battery of standardized tests that measure key metrics of field performance. Over the years, we have tested many high-quality competition fields with these same tests.
We use this database of high-quality competition fields as a benchmark that we compare against every turf surface we test. We are identifying opportunities using this tool, as it enables us to understand how the combination of specific turf, infill, and pad can create artificial turf surfaces that react to forces like natural grass playing fields.
Finally, a new technology we are excited about is our state-of-the-art motion capture lab. The lab consists of eight high-speed cameras and a force plate which measure how Athletes move. Shaw Sports Turf utilizes this motion capture lab to measure how Athletes move over different artificial turf surfaces.
Our lab aids in our understanding of how turf surfaces interact with the forces and techniques Athletes use when running, cutting, and landing from jumps. This technology will allow us to develop turf that not only reflects the playability characteristics of high-quality competition fields but is also optimized for Athletic movement.
JM: It feels like every new NFL stadium that's being built is installing turf. Why do you think that is, despite NFLPA complaints, as misguided as they are?
Dr. Trey Brindle: I think NFL teams are moving towards artificial turf because of its many practical benefits but also due to its ability to elevate the game. There are many obvious benefits with artificial turf over natural grass in the NFL.
Artificial turf is more versatile, more robust to playing conditions, and able to withstand high forces from some of the strongest fastest men in the world. For example, just look at the past two Super Bowls, both of which were hosted on natural grass fields in indoor stadiums in the desert—a tenuous situation to begin with.
Both fields required full replacements between the regular season and the Super Bowl, one of which failed and resulted in sub-par playing conditions for the biggest game of the year.
By contrast, artificial turf fields can stand up to the high wear of a football season, lasting multiple seasons even while, in some cases, hosting multiple teams.
Adequate playability is important as the fields will be subject to the demands of the applicable sport; thus, when selecting a field, it is important to recognize that not all artificial turf fields are the same.
JM: Turf has evolved from short fiber with no infill over a hard surface to fiber types, infills, and padding. It's so much more sophisticated nowadays. Do you think the public is still catching up to how much better the product has gotten?
Dr. Trey Brindle: Yes, people are always surprised when I tell them how many different infills for artificial turf we’ve evaluated (over 70 and still going!).
Another thing that surprises people is that infills are not only limited to providing just shock absorption but can also provide impactful field-cooling benefits. Out of all the infills we’ve tested, Geofill has by far the greatest capability to provide cooling benefits to the field.
Geofill is a 100% natural infill that when wet will slowly release moisture when the sun hits it so it can aid in keeping the field cooler than a traditional artificial turf field with rubber infill.
There are also many options for padding. Installing a pad underneath the turf field provides additional shock absorption and adjusts other metrics of the field’s playability.
At Shaw Sports Turf, our turf pad, NXTPlay, does just that and more. NXTPlay pad is also partially made with recycled fiber from reclaimed turf fields. When we reclaim artificial turf for recycling into our pad, it diverts that turf from going to the landfill.
To date, Shaw Sports Turf has reclaimed over 10 million pounds of turf fiber for recycling into NXTPlay pad. This industry-leading recycling capability has led to Cradle-to-Cradle certification of not just the NXTPlay product, but also the entire Shaw Sports Turf surface when it includes natural infill, such as Geofill, and our NXTPlay pad.
At Shaw Sports Turf, our ability to manufacture fields has greatly increased in sophistication with our ground-breaking GameOn technology.
I already mentioned some of the benefits of GameOn, but it's also worth mentioning that revolutionary field graphics are possible with this technology.
Athletic programs are no longer limited to covering a field in a non-traditional color to stand out; rather, they now can choose from a wide variety of options to provide an enhanced brand and fan experience with GameOn technology.
Innovation is foundational to what we do. We’re constantly searching for and investing in new innovations, centered on the Athlete, the game, and the environment.
JM: We've appreciated your time today. This has been quite a learning experience for me. In closing, the Baltimore Ravens practice facility is covered with Shaw Sports Turf. A ton of MLB teams also use the product. Are you hoping to see NFL games played on Shaw Sports Turf in the near future?
Dr. Trey Brindle: Absolutely. As a company, we are extremely proud of the products we manufacture and bring to the market and love it when we see any game played on our turf.
This past October, we loved watching both the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks compete in the World Series on Shaw Sports Turf.
Similarly, we would love to see NFL games played on Shaw Sports Turf again. We believe that we have the best products on the market and are dedicated to the advancement of artificial turf for the Athlete and the industry.
We may not be the choice for every NFL team, but for those teams that are laser-focused on getting the best surface for the players and the game, I believe we have a lot of insight and advantages to offer.
