Despite the NFL spending $1.16m on developing a field for State Farm Stadium that took 11 months to grow, the surface for Super Bowl LVII was still remarkably not up to scratch, with Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes going down late in the first half with an ankle injury.
Social media blew up about the sub-standard conditions, with the field visibly being torn up through the middle on the television broadcast.
Players on both sides were slipping on the grass, which is prepared by a local turf grower in Phoenix.
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It is kept on a football field-sized, metre-deep tray that can be rolled in and out of the stadium as required, similarly to the drop-in pitches used at most cricket grounds around Australia, except for the SCG.
However, the abundance of NFL logos painted onto the field seem to be responsible for the players slipping over, with former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli noticing the size of the Super Bowl logos.
Pioli said on Twitter that slipping over on painted areas of the field was “not uncommon on grass.”
“Those Super Bowl logos are HUGE and cover almost all grass between hashes from 17-yd line to 33-yd line,” Pioli said.
“Looks like much more paint than usual.
“Potential player safety issue?”
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Aussie Eagles lineman Jordan Mailata revealed both teams were talking with each other about the “terrible” field during the game.
“It was like playing on a water park,” he said.
Another key moment in the first half saw Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker miss a 42-yard field goal, hitting the upright and missing with scores tied at 7-7, and appearing to slip on the painted Super Bowl logo as he made the kick.
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott also slipped over attempting a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter.
Former Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw slammed the NFL for “painting the whole field”, as Eagles QB Jalen Hurts changed his cleats in order to cope with the slippery surface.
It hasn’t seemed to hinder Hurts, becoming the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to have three rushing touchdowns in a game to tie the match at 35-35 with 5 minutes remaining on a two-point conversion.
Mahomes returned to the game after recieving treatment for his injured ankle, leading the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory off the back of 182 passing yards, the franchise’s third Super Bowl and second with Mahomes at the helm.
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