George Kittle, Breece Hall join chorus of NFL players calling for grass over turf
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle became the latest NFL player to advocate for all 32 teams to adopt grass playing surfaces after several did so for the 2026 World Cup.
Kittle voiced his support for grass fields while attending the 2026 World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium. He posted several pictures of the playing surface to social media, noting it looked "great" and tagging the NFL to make his feelings known.
"Grass looks great at MetLife!" Kittle wrote in his initial post to X, which featured an image of the field being prepared for the match. "Can we keep it that way @NFL?? Would appreciate it thanks."
Grass looks great at MetLife! Can we keep it that way @NFL ?? Would appreciate it thanks pic.twitter.com/ZJAJtbqwF7
- George Kittle (@gkittle46) July 19, 2026
Kittle parroted his message later in the match in another social media post, this one featuring a selfie of him and Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg, who joined him in attending the tournament final.
"Grass still looks great!" Kittle wrote. "Let's use grass instead of turf @NFL!! Please? Thanks guys!
Grass still looks great! Let's use grass instead of turf @NFL !! Please? Thanks guys! pic.twitter.com/1iS8Jf2zPX
- George Kittle (@gkittle46) July 19, 2026
Kittle's second post notably garnered an one-word endorsement from New York Jets running back Breece Hall, who plays his home games at MetLife Stadium.
"PLEASE," Hall wrote in a quote-post on X.
Kittle and Hall's comments come amid a larger push from NFL players to have owners uniformly install grass surfaces across all 30 of the league's regular stadiums. Presently, just 15 of the 30 venues have grass surfaces while the others use turf.
Multiple NFL players - including Caleb Williams, Laremy Tunsil and Patrick Queen, among others - have recently shared posts about playing on grass that include a "#worththecost" hashtag.
The reaction is not a surprise. According to an NFLPA survey, 92% of NFL players prefer playing on natural grass over synthetic turf.
The NFL doesn't appear to be considering a full-out switch to grass any time soon. Turf stadiums that installed grass for the World Cup - including AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots play - have already begun the process of removing the grass and re-laying the turf ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Kittle, Breece Hall join chorus of NFL players calling for grass over turf