San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is using the World Cup as ammunition in the ongoing debate over playing surfaces in the NFL.
After watching soccer’s biggest tournament played on natural grass at NFL stadiums across the country, Kittle is asking a simple question: if it can be done for the World Cup, why can’t the NFL make it happen full-time?
“We’ve made it clear that we prefer grass fields. We know it’s better on our bodies. And clearly, we know it’s possible based on everything that went into putting down grass fields for the World Cup in each stadium,” Kittle said, through the NFL Players Association.
For the tournament, multiple NFL venues made the switch from artificial turf to natural grass, including SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; Lumen Field in Seattle; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; NRG Stadium in Houston; and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“At this point, it comes down to the NFL making it a priority and choosing to invest in us as players, because our bodies are our business, which they get to capitalize on,” Kittle added.
Worth noting: Kittle himself suffered an Achilles tendon tear on January 11 during an NFC wild-card game — and that injury actually occurred on a grass field, hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 32-year-old had a productive 2024 season, hauling in 57 catches for 628 yards and seven touchdowns across 11 games.
A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Kittle has accumulated 595 career receptions for 8,008 yards and 52 touchdowns over 124 games with San Francisco, including four seasons where he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards.
