We are still a few months away from the NFL preseason, but football stadiums across the country are being used as the FIFA World Cup begins in two weeks.
Per World Cup rules, each stadium must have actual grass installed and maintained to a proper standard to be a suitable host for the biggest sporting tournament in the world.
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We’re seeing SoFi Stadium, MetLife Stadium, and other prominent NFL venues getting the World Cup treatment on social media, as social media teams are showing off the careful transformation of the grass that will be used during the World Cup.
Which begs the obvious question: Why can’t they do this, for you know, the actual NFL season?
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A general view of FIFA World Cup 2026 signage at SoFi Stadium on May 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Players have been outspoken about how playing on artificial surfaces, even if they’re as close as possible to grass, can lead to non-contact injuries and change someone’s life forever in a single play.
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Four years ago, in the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, Odell Beckham Jr. was on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP for the hometown Los Angeles Rams before a non-contact injury took him out before halftime and prematurely ended his night, leading him to never return to that peak form.
If NFL owners are OK bending backward so that the field is perfectly fine for Bosnia-Herzegovina versus Switzerland, why can’t they do the same for the players who are the lifeblood of their greatest investment?
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Over half of the NFL stadiums don’t play on natural grass. Why?
The World Cup, which has a slew of problems, understands the importance of the top stars on the planet playing on the best surfaces possible.
There is no reason the NFL can’t do the same to ensure its players have the best possible chance of lengthy careers in a sport that is already so physically demanding and volatile.
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