The rate of non-contact injuries to the knee, ankle and foot is roughly the same on natural and artificial playing surfaces.
There have been calls for the league to convert all surfaces to grass in response to a number of high-profile injuries on artificial turf. Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan that the league has no plans to do that.
One of the stadiums where Jones' team plays is an artificial surface. It isn't because we have the surface that we have. The type of surface we have doesn't seem to have any issues with our league statistics. There are no issues we see. There are no facts that support that.
IQVIA is a third-party company that compiles and analyses data on injuries suffered by athletes. Their joint surface committee uses the data to compare injuries in each of the 30 stadiums the league plays in, paying particular attention to injuries that occur without contact and possibly due to the surface itself.
The injuries are categorized as non-contact and to the lower limbs. There have been injuries over the past four years.
Data compiled for the NFL and NFLPA shows that injury rates on non-contact injuries to lower extremities are statistically the same on artificial turf vs. natural surfaces. Important context in the ongoing debate. pic.twitter.com/DAsPWBEdqC
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) November 9, 2022
The rate of such injuries has gone up on artificial turf fields. The numbers were almost the same by the year 2021. In 2021, artificial surfaces had an incident rate of.042 per 100, while natural surfaces had an incident rate of.041 per 100.
Jeff Miller is the NFL's executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy. The data will be collected at the end of the season.
Miller said that the discussion between synthetic surfaces and natural grass surfaces is not really the argument. We want to decrease injuries on both. Looking at synthetic versus natural doesn't give us the information we need to drive those injury rates down.
The rate difference narrowed due to an increase in injuries on grass. Stadiums are ordering replacements on average every two or three years, according to Miller. The league and the union are working with field managers to make sure the turf is well cared for.
During last month's meeting in New York, the findings of the surface committee were presented to owners, but the details hadn't been made public. There have been injuries on artificial turf.
After the Green Bay Packers lost pass-rusher Rashan Gary to a non-contactACL injury at Detroit's Ford Field, Packers LB De'Vondre Campbell said it was time to take some of the money. The turf is very hard to plant and maintain.
The difference between the two surfaces is not close.
There are some issues in the league right now and I know that. We should be playing outside. We should be outside. I'm not going to say anything else.
The issue is something that needs to be looked at seriously in the off-season.
It's been a topic before, according to Carroll. We have to do what's right and we have to do what's safe for the players. I'd hit the drum for that.
Sarah Barshop was a contributor.
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