​Rewriting my NFLPA protests as Gillette Stadium swaps World Cup grass for turf, originally published by The Sporting News. The Sporting News is now listed as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The natural grass surface installed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been removed, according to Caleb Pongratz via Dov Kleiman on X, with the venue reverting to artificial turf ahead of the 2026 NFL season. The field hosted seven World Cup matches before the removal.
The NFLPA issued a pointed statement the moment the contrast became undeniable. “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. 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.”
Gillette was one of at least five NFL venues that installed temporary natural grass for the tournament, as FIFA mandates natural surfaces at all its events. The stadium had used artificial turf since November 2006, but its original 2002 construction included an irrigation system and underground heating infrastructure that made the conversion manageable. Field superintendent Ryan Bjorn said the installation process took six weeks, starting the day after the Patriots’ Super Bowl send-off rally on February 1.
Patriots players welcomed the temporary change. “Playing on grass is a lot less taxing on the knees and ankles and joints like that,” running back Rhamondre Stevenson said, noting that soreness after games on turf is common. “Just speaking personally for myself, I love playing on grass,” safety Brenden Schooler added. “I think it’s got more give on it, doesn’t hurt as bad when you fall. When it’s freezing out, it doesn’t cut you up as bad as turf does. You don’t have to worry about turf burn. And I think from doing my own research and looking at data and stuff, I think turf — you have the unfortunate thing that you kind of get caught up, and guys get rolled up on, and your knee gets, or ankle gets stuck. And like I was saying, grass has got a little bit more give.”
The NFLPA separately polled 1,700 players and found 92 percent prefer natural grass over turf. 49ers tight end George Kittle said this month on the Pardon My Take podcast: “If you can put grass in MetLife and in SoFi, I think you could do that year-round if you really gave a shit.” The NFL has pointed to its own injury data showing comparable rates, though some supporters argue for grass as the safer option.