NFL to add quality control system for playing surfaces

The NFL is putting the field under review.

Beginning in 2026, clubs will be able to choose new fields only from a league-approved library of surfaces, with every selection vetted through an accreditation process.

The goal is that by the end of the 2027 season, any stadium replacing its turf will install an accredited surface. By 2028, the league will roll out a list of recommendations that teams must follow, similar to the safety-rated helmet program.

The first step comes next week. Multiple synthetic turf makers will present plots for the NFL and the players' association to evaluate using metrics set by the league's Field Services department. League officials say the effort is designed to retire older systems in favor of newer builds that meet consistent performance thresholds.

"We're obviously trying to phase out fields that we have determined to be less ideal than newer fields coming into the industry," NFL field director Nick Pappas told reporters on a conference call Thursday. "This is a big step for us. This is something that I think has been a great outcome from the Joint Service Committee, all the work, the deployment and development of devices, determining the appropriate metrics and, ultimately, providing us with a way to substantiate the quality of fields more so than we ever have in the past."

This is not a grass-versus-turf mandate. The NFL is not dictating the use of natural or synthetic fields, and league medical leadership continues to contend there is no significant overall difference in lower-extremity injury rates between the two.

The NFLPA backed the move while reiterating its stance that players overwhelmingly prefer high-quality natural grass. Even so, the union called the new accreditation and consistency push "a step in the right direction."

Most teams already swap natural grass multiple times per season and refresh synthetic installs every two-to-three years. Now, each change will be steered by league testing, both in labs and in stadiums, using equipment that simulates foot strikes and pivots to measure firmness, traction and support.

--Field Level Media