NFL Challenge Awardees Strengthen League’s Field Safety Efforts

Top Finishers in Crowdsourced HealthTECH Challenge I Generate Advances to Field Surface Composition, Surface Modifiers

NEW YORK — August 28, 2024 — The NFL today announced the top finishers in the HealthTECH Challenge I, a crowdsourced challenge to accelerate innovations that will help make playing surfaces more consistent and safer for players. The two awardees are:

• FieldTurf USA, which developed Liquid Surface Modifiers designed to improve existing turf surfaces in a simple and convenient way. The Modifiers are meant to accelerate the process of field settling and can be adjusted to enable better traction and alter the firmness of a surface to make it safer for players.

• GrassMaster, which developed PlayMaster, a hybrid playing surface using synthetic carpeting that is covered with sand and brushed and seeded with natural grass. The surface is distinguished by its quick installation and repair capabilities, along with its durability and its safety-centric design.

For its proposal, FieldTurf USA will receive $41,000 and GrassMaster will receive $59,000.

“While these proposals represent only one part of the NFL’s comprehensive strategy to create the safest, most consistent playing surfaces, attracting new and innovative ideas from experts in and outside of the industry will make the game safer, and we are excited to see how these two innovative approaches evolve,” said Jeff Miller, NFL Executive Vice President overseeing Player Health & Safety.

HealthTECH Challenge I was held in partnership with Football Research, Inc. (FRI) and Duke Biomedical Engineering (Duke BME). The crowdsourced entries were assessed by an oversight committee comprising leading experts in injury prevention, materials engineering and playing surfaces. In addition to providing funding, members of the oversight committee with expertise relevant to the two awardees will provide guidance and input to the teams developing both technologies.

“The top submissions have the potential to support the league’s broader approach to providing the safest and most playable fields possible,” said Nick Pappas, field director for the NFL and a member of the challenge oversight committee. “I look forward to working with the rest of the oversight committee to to support the awardees as they hone their technologies and prepare them for potential usage on NFL fields.”

HealthTECH Challenge I is part of the HealthTECH Challenges (previously known as the HeadHealthTECH Challenges), a series of innovation challenges intended to deepen understanding of and advance solutions in the areas of head protection, lower extremity protection, materials science and kinematic measurement, among others.