San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle attended the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, uses artificial turf during the NFL season. However, the venue was forced to install a natural grass field specifically for the World Cup.
Kittle shared a message on X, pleading with the NFL to keep the natural-grass field during football season.
GettyMetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, hosts the 2026 World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina.
George Kittle Shares Pleading Message To the NFL
The 49ers tight end shared two social media posts while attending the World Cup final, urging the NFL to install natural grass at all stadiums.
The first post was captioned: “Grass looks great at MetLife! Can we keep it that way @NFL?? Would appreciate it thanks.”
Then Kittle shared another post captioned: Grass still looks great! Let’s use grass instead of turf @NFL!! Please? Thanks guys!”
Kittle, who has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, is not the only one who wants all NFL stadiums to install real grass.
New York Jets star running back Breece Hall reposted one of Kittle’s posts with the caption “PLEASE.”
The Issue With Turf Fields
FIFA mandates that all World Cup matches be played on natural grass surfaces. However, MetLife is one of many NFL stadiums that use turf instead of grass during the football season.
One downside is that players sustain non-contact injuries at a higher rate on turf than on grass.
Notably, Giants star wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered a torn ACL at MetLife in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers last season.
But the NFL has not shown any indication of replacing turf fields.
GettySan Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.
George Kittle Health Update
The 49ers tight end suffered a couple of injuries last season. Kittle had a hamstring injury in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. He missed five games before returning in Week 7. He started the remaining 10 games, collecting 57 receptions for 628 yards and 7 touchdowns.
But Kittle then suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the NFC Wild Card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 11.
Although the typical injury recovery lasts between 6 and 12 months, Kittle has remained confident that he will be healthy by Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. The 49ers have not confirmed that Kittle will be ready by their season opener in Melbourne, Australia, against the Los Angeles Rams.
If the two-time first-team All-Pro is healthy by the start of the 2026 NFL season, it could provide a massive boost to a 49ers offense that has Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy and Mike Evans.
49ers’ George Kittle Sends Pleading Message to NFL During World Cup Final