NFL Says Non-Contact Injury Rates Were Similar on Grass, Artificial Surfaces in 2023

Despite ongoing calls from players for NFL teams to use grass instead of artificial turf in stadiums, a study from the league has found the rate of non-contact injuries from the 2023 regular season were similar on both surfaces.

Per ESPN's Kevin Seifert and Dan Graziano, league officials confirmed data showed "noncontact lower-extremity injuries was nearly the same on synthetic and natural turf" this season.

The incidence rates per 100 plays for lower-extremity injuries was 0.043 on synthetic turf and 0.042 on natural grass. The rates from the 2022 season were 0.048 for turf and 0.035 for grass.

The data was collected by a joint committee made up of NFL officials and members of the NFL Players Association.

Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president for communications, public affairs and policy, cited a "need to look at all surfaces" for ways to improve injury rates because of how similar the numbers were between grass and artificial turf.

Per Judy Battista of NFL.com, league officials said there were a total of 700 fewer missed player games this season compared to 2022:

"The primary driver of the decrease was the league hitting a four-year low in the number of lower extremity strains—there was a 29 percent decrease in strains during training camp. And with fewer initial strains, there was a 50 percent decline in recurrent lower extremity strains. That is particularly good news because, according to the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, lower extremity strains keep players off the field more than any other injury. The NFL points to an acclimation period at the start of training camps, which gradually ramps up workload over two weeks, as playing a significant role in the reduction of strains."

Battista added the 52 ACL tears in 2023 was a decrease of 24 percent from the previous two seasons.

Seifert and Graziano noted the NFLPA said in a statement the injury data on the two surfaces was close this season only because the rate of grass injuries increased and using one-year samples doesn't address the problem:

"As we have said repeatedly, injury data in a one-year time capsule does not account for what we have known since we started tracking these injuries: that a well-maintained, consistent grass surface is still simply safer for players than any synthetic field. The story of last year's injury data is that, unfortunately, injury rates on grass have increased from last year.

"The data cannot, however, account for what players have shared with the NFL for years: that we feel much worse after playing on synthetic surfaces and overwhelmingly prefer consistent, high-quality grass fields.

"This year's injury data also does not explain how quick they are to flip NFL stadium surfaces from bad synthetic to better grass for international soccer friendlies and tournaments."

In the wake of Aaron Rodgers' season-ending torn Achilles in the first quarter of the New York Jets' Week 1 win over the Buffalo Bills, the NFLPA once again spoke out about the need for natural grass surfaces to be used during games.

MetLife Stadium, home of the Jets and Giants, uses artificial turf. There are 15 teams that currently use turf in their stadiums. The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles use a hybrid grass-turf surface.

According to Seifert and Graziano, Miller and Sills both noted this week that the joint NFL-NFLPA committee has several research initiatives underway to address surface conditions and is also researching the impact of establishing a consistent set of turf management and style protocols so players don't have to make adjustments based on the stadium they are playing in.