After watching the World Cup, San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle is calling for natural grass fields in the NFL as well.

After watching the U.S. men’s national soccer team in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup against Paraguay (4-1), NFL star George Kittle has also called for traditional grass fields in his sport.

“This turf looks great on Sofi’s field too… I wonder if we could have that all season long,” the San Francisco 49ers NFL pro wrote on “X”.

In the 2025 season, Kittle suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the Wild Card round of the playoffs at Lincoln Financial Field. The surface there is a combination of natural and artificial turf.

USA USA USA

— George Kittle (@gkittle46) June 13, 2026

There has been a long-standing debate about natural grass in the NFL

For the World Cup, the turf was replaced at Lincoln Financial Field, among other venues; the games are being played on classic natural grass.

Furthermore, Kittle is by no means the only NFL pro advocating for a switch from artificial to natural grass. “I’m entering my tenth pro season now, and I can say with complete conviction that natural grass feels much better than artificial turf,” Jermaine Eluemunor told “NBC News.”

“The fact that MetLife Stadium is now getting natural grass is, of course, great for FIFA and the World Cup. It’s one of the biggest stages in the world, but at the same time, the NFL as a whole is one of the most profitable organizations in the world. So you’d think that we players should have a say in choosing the playing surfaces we play on,” added the New York Giants offensive lineman.

According to the NFL Players Association, a survey found that as many as 92 percent of players prefer natural grass.