JC Tretter: Field situation in Brazil “reinforces” NFLPA issues about worldwide video games

Sunday’s recreation between the Ravens and Cowboys in Brazil will probably be performed on a grass subject that seemingly won’t look nice on TV. It additionally will current challenges for the gamers, particularly on the subject of carrying the suitable cleats.

NFL Players Association govt director JC Tretter has weighed in on the problem. And he has pointed to the apparent purple flag concerning the overall subject high quality at stadiums that hardly ever host NFL video games.

“There have been a lot of questions about the field surface in Brazil, and I wanted to provide the NFLPA’s perspective,” Tretter mentioned in a prolonged message posted on Twitter.

“Our primary precedence is the well being and security of our gamers. The concern heading into this week was that the sphere could be free, patchy, and result in extreme slipping. Those situations are typically extra of a playability and efficiency situation than a major harm concern.

“But security isn’t the one customary. Players ought to be capable to carry out on the stage they anticipate of themselves and that followers anticipate from them. A skinny, slick subject might not current the identical dangers as a floor with an excessive amount of traction, nevertheless it nonetheless impacts efficiency and the standard of the sport.

“We’ve been in regular communication with the league about the field. Both the NFLPA’s and the league’s field experts have been on the ground in Brazil for days, monitoring conditions and working to make the surface as safe and playable as possible for Sunday.

“Based on our experts’ assessment, the field needed better traction and stability. They recommended reinforced stitching to help the surface hold together and brought in equipment to reinforce as much of the field as possible before the game. Our experts will remain engaged and continue evaluating conditions through kickoff.

“The work happening this week also highlights two larger issues.

“First, we need field standards that account for both safety and performance. The NFL, NFLPA, and our field and engineering experts spend a lot of time working on these issues, and we’ve made progress. But we’re not where we need to be yet. We can’t have surfaces that melt players’ cleats, like we saw in Nashville last week. We can’t have frozen fields that create unnecessary risks. The best athletes in the world should be playing on surfaces that meet the same standard of excellence we expect from them every week.

“Second, this reinforces one of our concerns about international expansion. Two of the three games played in Brazil have had field-related issues. That’s not a coincidence. This time of year makes it extremely challenging to maintain the kind of grass surface we expect at the NFL level.

“Our guys are exceptional at what they do, and I’m confident they’ll put on a terrific game in Rio this week. They always do. But we owe it to them to provide the best possible opportunity to succeed. Players can overcome a lot. But they shouldn’t have to overcome the field.

“The NFL has been clear they want to continue to grow the game internationally. However, growth alone cannot be the goal. The goal has to be growing the game while maintaining the standards our players deserve. If we can’t do both, then we need to make different decisions.”

The drawback is that the NFL has already made the choice to develop the slate of worldwide video games from 10 per yr to 16. As to subject high quality, it might be higher to have a workforce or two primarily based in different international locations, since that will give the league a purpose to make sure that the sphere will probably be ok for all 10 house video games performed there.

For now, the league intends to, in concept, have each workforce play one worldwide recreation per yr. And whereas the NFLPA isn’t required to conform to that time period within the subsequent Collective Bargaining Agreement, the league will certainly lock out the gamers till they comply with each 18 regular-season video games and 16 annual worldwide video games.

The finest the gamers can do is negotiate the perfect concessions in alternate. Field high quality shouldn’t be a concession. The league’s want to economize and to develop income potential for non-football occasions has contributed to the present variety of synthetic fields. The situation is totally different as to worldwide video games; cities have to be chosen with the standard of the video games to be performed there as one of many prime priorities.

In Brazil, it clearly will not be.