Report: 2022 injury data 'awful' for turf compared to grass

The NFLPA has been pushing back on NFL ownership for several years now to get the league’s leadership to open their eyes to the increased risk of injuries to players on turf fields versus grass. So far, it hasn’t made a difference.

On Tuesday’s episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, the team dove into the 2022 injury data, not just from the pros, but also at the high school level. Their expert on the matter was Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the Cincinnati Reds team physician since 1996. He said he “absolutely” sees a difference in the injury rates.

“I see an epidemic of injuries of young, strong, healthy kids that are getting hurt that are risking not only their careers, but their limbs,” Kremchek said.

The data from the NFL has led to similar conclusions from the NFLPA. However, according to sources who spoke to ProFootballTalk, it’s not opening the eyes of the NFL owners yet.

“At this week’s ownership meetings in Minneapolis, NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills acknowledged that the ‘numbers weren’t good,’ without getting into specifics,” according to PFT. “None of the owners pressed for specifics, we’re told.”

Turf might be cheaper and easier to maintain. However, it doesn’t provide the same amount of give as a grass field. That is where the issues arise.

“What happens is the foot hits the ground, and when the body is gonna change direction, the foot stays planted, and it gets stuck,” Kremchek said. “And as the body starts to turn, all the stresses go from the foot, the ankle, and then up to the knee. And as the knee turns, boom.”

Head of NFLPA calls out Jerry Jones, NFL ownership

NFLPA president JC Tretter had a scathing review of the NFL ownership following the release of the 2022 injury data. Tretter exposed the increased rate of injuries to players playing on turf versus grass in 10 of the past 11 years and called out owners who deny the increased risks to player safety.

At one point in his letter, the leader of the player’s association specifically named Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as one of the league heads going against the data.

“I would like to know what Jerry Jones thinks of this new information,” Tretter wrote, “given that he too, in November of 2022 said, ‘And it’s not because we have the surface that we have. Our league stats don’t see issues with the type of surface that we have as opposed to natural grass. We don’t see issues. No facts bear that out.‘”

“The credibility the league has with the players on health and safety issues is virtually nonexistent,” Tretter continued. “Instead of following the long-term data (which is clear on this issue), listening to players and making the game safer, the NFL used an outlier year to engage in a PR campaign to convince everyone that the problem doesn’t actually exist. For example, the Tennessee Titans recently announced that they will be changing from a grass field to turf, citing that they believe the change will make the field safer.”

Tretter went on to call out the “absolutely appalling” reality that NFL owners will swap out turf fields for grass when European soccer clubs come to town, but not at the request of their own players.