Pat McAfee called out what he sees as the NFL’s latest excuse in the long-running fight over turf and natural grass.
The issue has become louder because NFL stadiums are being transformed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with soccer demanding grass surfaces at venues that usually host football on turf.
That has left players and analysts asking the obvious question. If owners can install grass for soccer, why can’t NFL players get better surfaces for their own games?
NFL grass debate gets Pat McAfee deflection warning
On a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee argued that the NFL uses World Cup soccer grass as a way to dodge the bigger player-safety conversation.
“Soccer grass is obviously different. It’s a little lighter; it’s a little softer. It’s meant for running. Not so much like pushing and all that stuff,” McAfee said.
He added, “So, the grass that’s going into these stadiums is nowhere near what football grass would inevitably have to be anyway. So, there’s always a constant deflection by the NFL.”
McAfee’s point was not that soccer grass and football grass are the same. He was arguing the opposite.
His frustration was that the NFL can point to the World Cup surface and say it would not work for football, instead of seriously addressing what a proper football-specific grass field would require.
That turns the conversation away from player safety and toward a technical argument about the wrong kind of grass.
NFL players have already made grass preference impossible to ignore
The stronger part of McAfee’s argument is that players have already made their preference clear. The NFLPA recently surveyed 1,700 players, and 92% said they preferred playing on high-quality natural grass.
“[As] Soon as the players say this about the World Cup soccer grass, the NFL goes like, ‘You guys want that grass? If we put that grass in every single stadium, your guys’ argument would look terrible because it would be the worst that we have,'” McAfee concluded.
That is why the World Cup issue has become so sensitive. Several NFL venues are proving they can install high-level grass when FIFA requires it.
The NFLPA has argued that players should not have to watch owners roll out better surfaces for soccer while continuing to play football on artificial turf. Players prefer grass because they believe it has more give, reduces wear on the body, and lowers the risk of certain non-contact lower-body injuries.
Owners, meanwhile, often prefer turf because stadiums are multi-use businesses. Turf is easier to maintain through concerts, events, weather, and heavy scheduling.
McAfee’s criticism lands in that gap. The league can explain why World Cup soccer grass is not football grass, but that still does not answer why NFL players cannot get the kind of football grass they keep asking for.
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