THE playing surfaces at every NFL stadium will have to meet new enhanced standards set through lab and field testing by the start of the 2028 season.

NFL field director Nick Pappas detailed the plans for a programme on Thursday that will provide each team “a library of approved and accredited NFL fields” before the start of next season. Any new field will immediately have to meet those standards and all teams will have two years to achieve the standards, whether they use a grass or synthetic surface or a hybrid.

Most artificial surfaces are replaced every two or three years, Pappas said. Natural fields can be replaced several times a season.

Pappas said the fields will have undergone extensive testing and been approved by a joint committee with the NFLPA.

Pappas said fields have been tested in labs and on site using two main tools. One is called the BEAST, which is a traction testing device that replicates the movements of an NFL player. The other is called the STRIKE Impact Tester, which helps determine the firmness of each field.

The goal of the league is to find fields that are as consistent as possible across all 30 NFL stadiums, as well as at each stadium throughout the season. Pappas said the “key pillars” for a field are optimised playability, reducing injury risk and player feedback.

The NFL has no plans to require natural grass fields across the league. The league’s chief medical officer, Dr Allen Sills, said there were no “statistically significant differences” in lower extremity injuries or concussions that can be attributed to the type of playing surface or a specific surface, despite widespread preferences by players for grass fields and complaints about surfaces such as the one at Meadowlands, where the New York Giants and Jets play.