Legendary Kurt Warner leads calls for all NFL matches to be played indoors
Former NFL quarterback and current TV analyst Kurt Warner has called for all games to be played indoors.
As it stands, all games played in the league are played outdoors and as a result, the game is exposed to the elements. As seen in other sports, the weather can have a significant impact. For example, high winds can affect the trajectory of the tennis ball during rallies, while heavy rain can increase the pace of the ball across the ground in a football game which can lead to errors.
But Warner, who won the Super Bowl with the former St. Louis Rams in 2000, thinks high winds prevent players from performing to the best of their ability. Especially quarterbacks who are tasked with throwing the ball and also players on the receiving end looking to catch the ball, something made more difficult with adverse weather conditions.
He took to social to express why the sport should consider playing under a roof. “This rainy, windy day in Philly reminds me of why I want to #DOME every stadium for FBall games,” the 52-year-old wrote on X.
"Doesn’t matter how great a thrower of the football you are, crappy conditions mess up games… just ask @JoeyB after game 1! (& who wants to see the best not at their best???).”
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It is not the first time Warner has made the call. In 2021, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-3 on a windy day to advance to the AFC Championship. The former quarterback was in the NFL Network studio and made his feelings clear.
“Can we just play every playoff game inside?” Warner said to the dismay of everyone on the panel. "Here’s what I don’t like. I don’t like it when we come to the biggest moments of the season, the biggest moments of our career, and now the elements become a part of the mix.
“I want the best team to be able to advance and all the elements to be the exact same for every team.”
Warner’s comments come a month after he watched his son Kade play his first NFL game in the same stadium where he last played in the Super Bowl. He missed out on the chance to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the second time in 2009, when the Arizona Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Warner thinks indoor games would allow all the players the best opportunity to perform at their highest level (Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Now 14 years later, he watched his 24-year-old son take part in his first pre-season game as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent. They took on the Steelers at Raymond James Stadium and he was immensely proud of his child for taking the first step in his NFL career.
He tweeted a photo with his son on the field and wrote: "Last SB I played in vs the Steelers at Buccaneers Stadium…today my son plays his first game for the Bucs vs Steelers in that same stadium. You can't make this stuff up…and I never thought I'd cheer for [Tampa Bay]. How quickly things change! #Proud Papa.”
The younger Warner was cut by the Bucs who have won their first two games. They will look to continue their momentum against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
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