Jordan Mailata: If stadiums are grass for the World Cup, that should be bare minimum for us

Published July 31, 2026 10:53 AM Jordan Mailata has spent his NFL career playing for the Eagles, so he’s accustomed to his home field playing surface being grass. But Mailata also just watched the World Cup get played in NFL stadiums across the nation and all of those games were also played on grass, including in places where the surface is normally turf. As a member of the NFC East, Mailata plays at MetLife Stadium and AT&T Stadium every year — two of several sites that converted to grass for the World Cup. As Philadelphia’s NFLPA rep, Mailata has added his voice to the many who are calling for all NFL games to be played on grass, particularly in light of what we all saw this summer. “If we can make all-grass stadiums for the World Cup coming to America, we should be able to at least do [that] for us,” Mailata said, via Zach Berman of TheAthletic.com. “That’s bare minimum for us. It should be, but it’s not. I agree with the campaign pushing for all grass fields, get rid of the turf. It’s kind of crazy, crazy how much power FIFA has.” Mailata is right that FIFA has plenty of power. But the vast majority of teams that utilize turf as a playing surface have not shown much inclination to change that surface over to grass on a full-time basis. We’ll see how this discussion evolves, particularly as the league looks to expand the schedule to 18 regular-season games.