According to ESPN, the NFL spent the 2023 season deploying 'a mobile machine' at various NFL stadiums to test the quality of different playing surfaces.
It's called the BEAST.
The Biomechanical Elite Athlete Shoe-Turf Tester has a 'cleat plate' which lowers into a field's surface and measures different variables including 'slipperiness.'
- The data is being analyzed now, according to ESPN. Changes will be considered after another year of data collection.
The investment in turf research comes amid steady anger from players about quality and inconsistency in playing surfaces.
- MetLife Stadium in particular has been called out for switching to grass for soccer games but staying with turf for NFL games.