Travis and Jason Kelce Call for NFL to Eliminate All Artificial Turf Fields

Though Travis Kelce was back on the practice field in a limited capacity on Tuesday after suffering a non-contact leg injury during the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Vikings, he and his brother, Jason Kelce, are thoroughly opposed to turf fields in the wake of the incident.

On the latest episode of their New Heights podcast, the Kelce brothers expressed concern over the safety of turf fields, rejecting the idea that the controversial slit-film turfs are any worse than other options.

"Have you ever noticed the difference between a slit-film turf, a monofilament turf, a combination turf?" Jason, the center for the Philadelphia Eagles, asked Travis. "Like when you go out on a turf, can you be like, 'Oh, this is a slit-film turf?'"

"No," Travis answered. "I don't know what the difference would be."

Jason said he worries that teams will simply replace slit-film turf with other artificial turfs that he believes are equally dangerous.

"We need to get rid of turf altogether," Jason said. "And I don't want to hear that it's an indoor stadium. They make UV lights. You can grow grass inside. There are frickin' pot barns down the street that are growing mountains of f****** pot. We can grow grass indoors. I don't want to hear this nonsense."

Jason continued: "Just stop it. We went through this with AstroTurf back in the day. It ruined guys' careers. Now we're seeing the same thing with this turf, and it's only going to continue to happen. Just go back to the grass."

He added that he is playing at the New York Jets' MetLife Stadium on Sunday, which has been notoriously dangerous for players over the years. However, it's uncertain how many injuries over the years over the years at MetLife can be attributed to the turf itself.

"Did I do too much?" Jason asked. "Is the NFL going to hate me now?"

"No, I think you're an ambassador," Travis answered.

What Is Slit-Film Turf?

NFL Players Association President JC Tretter called for a ban on slit-film turf in 2022, citing the safety concerns players have shared over the years, but multiple stadiums still use it, including Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where Travis suffered his injury.

Slit-film fibers are thicker than monofilament blades of artificial grass because they are made up of multiple smaller blades. Those fibers can hold crumb rubber well, but a slide from a study conducted in 2022 by Biocore, obtained by Pro Football Talk, found that slit-film fibers have openings in each piece which increases the risk of a cleat catching in the material.

Artificial turf is generally considered cheaper than natural grass when calculating maintenance costs. Fifteen out of 32 NFL stadiums have natural grass, according to ESPN, including Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia where Travis and Jason Kelce respectively play their home games.

Is Artificial Turf Dangerous?

In 2022, the NFL said that slit-film surfaces produce fewer ACL injuries than other synthetic fields, but studies don't seem to back that up.

Biocore, an outside firm used by both the NFL and NFLPA, said in the study obtained by Pro Football Talk that "existing natural and synthetic surfaces in use in the League offer lower injury rate alternatives to slit-film."

Meanwhile, a 2018 study conducted by multiple orthopedic doctors showed that "synthetic turf surfaces do not release cleats as readily as natural turf," which led to nearly 16 percent more injuries overall and a concerning 20 percent more non-contact injuries, which was what Travis experienced on Sunday.

"[Turf] puts a little bit more strain—even if it's just the most minimal amount of strain, it still puts more strain on the joints for sure," Travis said on his podcast.