2015-16 NFL TECH REPORT BY ALEX STANLEY

Published February 2, 2016

Copyright 2016 SportTechie LLC

Sponsored by

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

New Media Partnerships Live Streaming

Social Media

NFL Digital Media

Virtual Reality STRIVR

Virtual Reality Fans

Next Generation Stats

Concussions Head Health Challenge

Other Technologies Battling Concussions

Player Training and Health Player Training/Health

The Next Frontier: Cognitive Player Training

Tech Partnerships Microsoft

EA Games

Amazon

Officiating Technology Used To Grow The Sport

Internationally

Athletes Investing

NFL and STEM Education San Francisco And 49ers

Looking Forward: A Tech-Driven

Future for NFL Future of the Venue

Fan Experience

Player Health

Round Table Insights Jason Sada: President of Axon Sports

Derek Belch: STRIVR Labs CEO & Founder

Eric Petrosinelli: General Manager, Zebra

Sports at Zebra Technologies

Michelle McKenna-Doyle: CIO of the NFL

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“ “Some people try to find things in this game that

don't exist; but football is only two things - blocking

and tackling.”- Vince Lombardi

While the immortal words of Vince Lombardi still epitomize the

foundation of football, the NFL has evolved at an exponential

pace. Today, players are faster and better trained, the business

is bigger and fans are consuming more content than ever before.

This sport-wide evolution is driven by technology.

The 2015-16 NFL season saw a multitude of player tracking, fan

engaging and league management technological storylines play

out. Just in the past year we have seen virtual reality’s exciting

entry into the world of football, a whole new level of statistical

player analysis, the introduction of different social media

platforms and so much more.

The following is a comprehensive report that puts all of this tech-

driven change by America’s most popular league in one place.

Read on to see how technology impacted the NFL’s 2015-16

season and what to expect going forward.

1 Image Source: Ideas.TED.com

NEW MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS

2 Image Source: Entrepreneur.com

LIVE STREAMING

In its first major step towards the growing world of livestreaming, the NFL

decided to sell the broadcasting rights of last October’s Bills-Jaguars

game in London to a digital distribution company. The situation was low

pressure--two consistently underperforming NFL teams playing in an

international setting. The winning party was Yahoo - charging $50,000 for

advertising spots for their free internet broadcast.

Vice President of Communications for NFL Media, Alex Riethmiller, was

happy with the quality and reception with what he called a “first step” in

the future of more live streaming for the NFL. Riethmiller said that this

was a good opportunity for the NFL to also gauge fan interest outside of

the United States.

The game was being played in Europe, so it obviously drew European

interest, but it was also being played at prime time in Asia. The

international community responded by accounting for 33 percent of total

traffic, according to the NFL. The exact number of international viewers is

hard to measure, though, seeing as live streaming ratings are not up to

the same specific standards as television ratings. However, the NFL

reported 15.2 million unique viewers for the game, and 33 percent of that

number would be about five million unique viewers.

With their first ever game exclusively sold to a digital distribution

company under their belt, the NFL is planning on selling the rights to

three more games next season to be live streamed. With three games

slated to be played in London next season, the NFL will be looking to

digital suitors for all three--it is rumored that Google and Apple are the

top contenders for these rights.

NFL REPORTED LIVE STREAM

DATA

33.6

MILLION

STREAMS

33% OF TRAFFIC CAME

INTERNATIONALLY

185 COUNTRIES

15.2

MILLION UNIQUE VIEWERS

480 MILLION TOTAL MINUTES

3

SOCIAL MEDIA

As the single most popular professional sports league in the United

States, the NFL has quite a bit of demand for content across almost

any media platform, not only their in-house sites, applications and

programs.

“The past three years or so has seen a real amount of growth in

terms of these (social media) partnerships. Not only with Twitter,

but we also have a partnership with Snapchat. We now have an

official channel on YouTube … We’ve had a partnership with

Facebook, and we continue to explore ways to work with them,”

Riethmiller said.

In recent times, arguably the most successful social media platform

for reaching consumers has been Twitter--which the NFL has

partnered with on Twitter’s Amplify program since 2013. Amplify

allows Twitter to place NFL tweets on user timelines that are not

actively following the NFL.

Generally, the NFL has struck one year deals with Twitter, renewing

their partnership after every season, but this year, the NFL placed a

good amount of trust into the social media platform, signing the first

ever multi-year deal. The partnership holds the NFL and Twitter

together for two years, with an increased presence of video content

for the NFL.

“Our content has performed extremely well on Twitter. I think if you

were to ask them, they would say it is some of their highest

performing content, in terms of the engagement metrics like

retweets and favorites,” Riethmiller said of the NFL Twitter account.

“ “ Our content has performed

extremely well on Twitter. I think if

you were to ask them, they would

say it is some of their highest

performing content, in terms of the

engagement metrics like retweets

and favorites.

4

SOCIAL MEDIA With that sort of reputation on Twitter, the social media platform has

used the NFL to spearhead some of its own new projects and

experiments. NFL games are a major feature of Twitter’s new

“Moments,” which highlights a specific event with popular tweets and

videos of that “moment.” Every NFL Playoff game has their own reel

within “Moments.”

This past summer, the Dolphins were the first sports team to utilize the

“Collections” feature of Twitter, as they created a page with information

and retail in conjunction with their 50 seasons throwback jerseys and

apparel.

Besides finally creating a YouTube channel this season, seeing the

NFL produce a select amount of video clips for the Google-owned

platform, the NFL’s work with Snapchat has exponentially increased

this season, along with Snapchat’s popularity. Today, 30 of the NFL’s

32 teams have an official Snapchat account, with the Chicago Bears

and New York Giants being the last two teams holding out.

After nearly 15 million people watched the 2015 NFL Draft Story on

Snapchat, the social media platform and the NFL struck a partnership

for the 2015 season. The agreement saw Snapchat gain access to a

number of NFL events, creating a Live Story for regular season games

through the Super Bowl. So, viewers gain access to real-time Snapchat

videos and pictures of a game, along with fan reaction to it.

The NFL even started to make a bit of money off the app--having

Skittles be their first advertiser among their Live Story for the 49ers-

Seahawks game in October. Riethmiller said that although his

department’s main focus is the NFL-owned media outlets, they will

continue to work hand-in-hand with social media platforms as the fans

remain there.

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NFL SNAPCHAT LIVE STORY METRICS Avg. 10 million users for Sunday games

Avg. 7 million users for weekday games

40% of audience from outside U.S.

NFL SOCIAL MEDIA DATA Twitter:15.1 million followers

Instagram: 5.1 million followers

Facebook: 12.8 million page likes

YouTube: 722,932 subscribers

(Snapchat: 15 million viewed Draft Day Live Story)

New England Patriots

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Pittsburgh Steelers

TOP 5 MOST FOLLOWED NFL TEAMS ON

TWITTER

SOCIAL MEDIA Source: Think with Google, 3 Ways to Reach and Engage Football Fans With YouTube

6

70% of YouTube football content is watched

on mobile

1.4 billion minutes of football news and

highlights watched on YouTube in 2015

Massachusetts and Washington were the

states with the highest football viewership

on YouTube in 2015

“ “

NFL DIGITAL MEDIA While social media is a key focus of most major sports leagues when it comes

to releasing digital content, much is still to be said of the NFL’s owned and

operated media empire.

On television, the league has the continued running of NFL Network. As far

as the digital side goes, there is NFL.com, NFL Mobile and NFL Now, which

was launched last year as a subscription-based digital video network channel.

According to Reithmiller, one of the biggest trends he has seen is the

continued importance of creating content for mobile devices.

“Very quickly, the focus has become mobile … More people go to NFL Mobile

on a Sunday than go to NFL.com,” he said.

Before the start of the season, NFL Mobile received a facelift, doing away

with many of the fees for streaming that existed last year. The NFL also

struck a deal with Verizon, giving Verizon customers streaming access to the

majority of games played this season. However, the premium packages, like

NFL RedZone, NFL Game Pass and NFL Now Plus do cost a fee.

Lastly, for any sports technology junkie, check out the newly produced NFL

Next series, produced by NFL Media. It explores a variety of topics around

the NFL tech landscape, highlighting some future technologies and more

current ones.

The fact that the NFL has spent this type of time and money on creating a

series dedicated to the technological advances in the league shows just how

far technology has come in recent years. The NFL has really begun to turn to

technology to address their issues and expand their product. With the NFL

Next series, they have even showcased this information in a manner that they

could not have done ten years ago--with an expansive and high tech digital

media focus.

Very quickly, the focus has

become mobile … More

people go to NFL Mobile on

a Sunday than go to

NFL.com.

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VIRTUAL REALITY

8 Image Source: Artstechnica.com

STRIVR

A company and technology that exploded on the sports technology

landscape this year was STRIVR Labs’ virtual reality (VR) software. Within

a period of 11 months, the company began working with 20 different

football teams, seven of those in the NFL, and has begun to expand

beyond the realm of football.

STRIVR began at Stanford University, founded by former graduate

assistant coach Derek Belch, with the help of Jeremy Bailenson, head of

Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. One of the first users of the

technology was Stanford’s Kevin Hogan, who should be making the leap

into the NFL next season, but was able to use the technology for his 2014

season.

Hogan was one of the guinea pigs for this hi-tech training system that has

been rapidly adopted across the sports landscape.

“When we did this for Kevin (Hogan) last year, and when we took stuff out

in the spring, we were ahead of the curve. We were a year ahead of

everybody,” Belch said.

Last June, STRIVR picked up their biggest client yet--the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys were their first client in the NFL, and from there the company

drew quite a bit of interest around the league as well as with a growing

number of college football programs.Belch credits the rapid success of

STRIVR to both their vast football knowledge and their innovative product.

“What we’re doing is really good. We are football guys, and we can speak

the language of these coaches,” he said.

9 Image Source: Bizjournals.com

STRIVR

Here, Belch is being a bit modest with his product. STRIVR does what no

other company can replicate at this moment in time. Around the time STRIVR

began to pick up momentum, they had one primary competitor--EON Sports

SIDEQIK.

While EON Sports has enjoyed success, like being utilized by the

Buccaneers, its growth has not been as rapid as that of STRIVR. The main

reason is STRIVR’s presentation of the virtual reality material. STRIVR uses

real practice footage taken by a 360-degree camera, while EON Sports offers

a digitized rendition of each play, sort of like a Madden NFL game.

Both systems can work for any position, although they are most utilized at the

quarterback position--giving quarterbacks a few extra snaps to learn the

playbook in an interactive way.

What Belch has on his side is actual research from the VR lab at Stanford

that shows how real video works better on the brain’s memory than digitized

plays. Additionally, upon signing with the team, STRIVR can get to working

with a team within 24 to 48 hours. For now, Belch said that STRIVR is taking

their time with regards to expanding their reach to other forms of virtual

reality.

“We are very quick to tell people that out of every 20 ideas for VR, 19 of them

probably aren’t very good,” he said. But it appears Belch and his team have

found that next useful application of virtual reality as they have recently

launched a division for fan experience, which has been preceded by a fan

showcase at Madison Square Garden allowing fans to get inside the skates of

New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist of the NHL.

DATA ON TEAMS

USING STRIVR

23 TEAMS

TOTAL

3

20 7 13 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TEAMS

DIFFERENT

SPORTS

FOOTBALL

TEAMS NFL TEAMS

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VIRTUAL REALITY FANS

One of the seemingly obvious, yet challenging endeavors as VR is

still in its nascent stages, is to broadcast a live game so fans can

virtually experience sitting field level or courtside. At the forefront

of this idea is NextVR, a Southern California-based virtual reality

company.

The company has started working with the NFL, privately

recording three games this season as a type of experiment. As a

next step, NextVR will showcase their footage at a fan booth prior

to this year’s Super Bowl, at San Francisco’s Moscone Center,

which will hold the NFL Experience.

At the fan booth, fans will be able to watch clips of these three

NFL games from one of the many different perspectives that

NextVR captured. This will ultimately help NextVR set the stage

for a full broadcast of an NFL game. Which, take our word for it,

would be an amazing experience.

Additionally, the Jaguars have a long-standing partnership with

another virtual reality company--VOKE. This season, they have

partnered with VOKE to allow fans within Jacksonville’s EverBank

Field to watch instant replays in virtual reality.

The replays are available through the Jaguars’ GameDay App,

and fans can toggle between multiple different virtual reality

camera angles.

11 Image Source: NextVR

“ “

NEXT GENERATION STATS

About five or six years ago, the NFL embarked on a mission to find

the best possible player tracking technology on the market. They

looked at a number of different companies and technologies,

ranging from camera technology to GPS to radio-frequency

identification (RFID).

In the 2013 season, four competitors placed their technology inside

stadiums for the NFL to test. After that process, the NFL selected

the group that took over the 49ers’ Candlestick Park and the Lions’

Ford Field: Zebra Technologies. This was the company’s first

venture into the world of sports, having worked mainly in the

automotive and industrial industries, helping companies like Ford

maximize their efficiency in manufacturing with radio-frequency

technology.

Switching from this hardlined manufacturing approach to the game

of football provides its own set of challenges, even to a company

as established as Zebra. Jill Stelfox, the Vice President and

General Manager of Location Services at Zebra, said that despite

making smaller chips, the toughest challenge was applying this

technology to the rules and game of football.

Beginning last season, Zebra was rolled out in 17 NFL stadiums,

placing two small RFID chips in player shoulder pads to measure

new statistics like a speed, acceleration and distance covered.

This season, Zebra technology has been implemented in every

NFL stadium, tracking player movements on every down.

Last year, we collected

something like 68 billion bytes

of data, which was more data

than had been collected

statistically on the NFL since

its inception.

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NEXT GENERATION STATS

“I would say overwhelmingly ‘yes’ it (the RFID system) has been

a big success for the fans this year and for both data quality and

data availability. Last year, we collected something like 68 billion

bytes of data, which was more data than had been collected

statistically on the NFL since its inception,” Stelfox said.

That number--68 billion bytes--will most likely be doubled at the

end of this NFL season, seeing as Zebra is now collecting data

for all 32 teams instead of just 17.

Interestingly though, the teams do not have access to this data--

all of the information goes directly to the NFL and a subset of the

data goes to different fan outlets like television broadcasts,

Microsoft platforms, SportRadar and Amazon.

The league is actually hoping this massive amount of data will be

beneficial with regards to both fan engagement and player

safety, rather than for a competitive component.

13 Image Source: Forbes.com

CONCUSSIONS

Concussions are the NFL’s giant elephant in the

room.

Last April, the NFL was racked by the approval of a

settlement that will cost them $1 billion over the

course of the next 65 years. The settlement will

cover the costs of a number of lawsuits in relation to

player concussions. To avoid this scenario in the

future, the NFL has begun to alter the rules and

invest in technology that will reduce the risk of

concussions.

14 Image Source: NFL.com

HEAD HEALTH CHALLENGE

In 2013, the NFL embarked on their first technology-based mission to

address their concussion problem. Partnering with Under Armour and GE,

the NFL began their Head Health Challenge, granting a total of $60 million

over four years to organizations working on concussion prevention and

treatment. There are three different phases of the Head Health Challenge,

and the final winners of the first two phases have been announced. The third

phase is still underway, but semifinalists have been announced.

Much of the first phase of the Head Health Challenge was centered around

concussion detection and diagnosis, providing better measures for how

concussions impact a player’s brain and body, and creating point-of-care

blood tests to diagnose concussions. The NFL looked to focus on this, since

the traditional means of testing for concussions, an athletic trainer doing a

number of physical and memory tests, is relatively imperfect.

Announced in July, there were six winners of Head Health Challenge I. Two

out of these six developed systems of detecting concussions that could be

administered on the sidelines or in the locker room. Banyan Biomarkers are

working on a point-of-care blood test that could spot mild or moderate brain

trauma, while a company called BrainScope, in conjunction with the Purdue

NeuroTrauma group, has conducted a brain imaging study which uses a

handheld device connected to a headset that can identify traumatic brain

injury and the susceptibility towards having that trauma.

Two more blood-based testing research groups won a grant from the NFL--

Quanterix and the University of Montana. Quanterix, using their Simoa

technology, has created a blood test that can check for biomarkers of

concussion symptoms. This could be used both on the sidelines or in a

clinical setting. The University of Montana focused more on the research

behind those biomarkers, and finding what signals brain trauma.

15 Image Source: Huffingtonpost.com

HEAD HEALTH CHALLENGE

16

The last two organizations to win the first phase focused primarily on MRI based brain

imaging research. A group at the Medical College of Wisconsin focused more on the

direct effects of concussions on brain function and structure, while UC Santa Barbara

used its data to detect damage in deep connections within the brain.

Just a couple of months ago, the NFL announced the finalists for the second phase of

their Head Health Challenge. They chose three groups to receive an undisclosed sum

of grant money--the U.S. Army, the University of Washington and a technology

company called Viconic Sporting.

Both the U.S. Army and the University of Washington focused on making the actual

football helmet more useful in preventing the risk of concussion. The U.S. Army

focused on whipping types of impacts on players’ heads, such as when they fall

backwards. The University of Washington reimagined the helmet for the purpose of

absorbing the impact a player may feel in a healthier way.

Meanwhile, Viconic Sporting took another route altogether, developing a layer of material to go underneath an

NFL field that will limit the impact felt on a player’s helmet.

The third and final phase of the NFL Head Health Challenge centers entirely around creating state-of-the-art

materials that could better deal with the impacts an NFL player faces on a weekly basis. While the finalists for

this phase have not yet been announced, the semifinalists have.

The NFL chose Alba Technic, Charles Owen and the University of Michigan for their patented materials that

either divert energy or absorb an impact in a more manageable way. Also included is Corsair Innovations, who

have done similar work, but their textile uses spring-like fibers packed closely together that repel energy.

The last semifinalist for this phase is Dynamic Research, which has developed a 6D suspension device that

could fit inside a helmet. Essentially, one suspension layer operates independently of the other, so the outside

can absorb impact without affecting the inside later.

The winners of Head Health III will be announced in the coming year.

Image Source: NFL.com

OTHER TECHNOLOGIES BATTLING CONCUSSIONS

There are a number of emerging technologies yet to be

implemented or funded by the NFL, which could prove vital to an

athletic trainer’s concussion detection and prevention repertoire on

the sidelines.

A few research groups are looking into the readability of eye

movements in order to objectively test for concussions.

Researchers at the Burke Rehabilitation Institute are using virtual

reality and the Oculus Rift to track eye movement in addition to

unnatural head movements, as a patient is surveying a scene within

the virtual reality headset. The system should be able to assess a

player’s risk of having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in

the future.

Although this technology is still about a year away from being game

ready, researchers at the University of Miami and University of

Pittsburgh medical schools are working on a set of goggles that

consist of two cameras that track the reflex responses of the eye

and the symmetry of pupil dilation. This objective manner of testing

for concussions would be one of the best ways of quickly testing on

the sidelines for concussions. These University of Miami I-Portal

PAS goggles were part of the Head Health Challenge II, but were

not a finalist.

We have also seen a few more concussion fighting technologies

that have flown under the radar this year. The NFL has tested

rapidly-growing helmet company Xenith, which has been earning

rave reviews from youth and collegiate football programs.

The University of Pennsylvania has created a helmet material that

changes color upon impact, signaling to athletic trainers and doctors

when a concussion may have occurred based on pure force.

Dr. Patrick Kerr patented the Kerr Collar, a device that focuses on

keeping a football player’s neck in better alignment after a collision.

Vicis, a company out of Seattle that has been gathering a lot of attention

lately due to an $8 million round of seed funding, has completely

redesigned the helmet. They created what they call the “Zero1,” a helmet

that features a softer, more impact-absorbing shell than the ones

currently used in the NFL. It also has a number of different layers, which

work to absorb energy similar to a car bumper.

Finally, Dartmouth’s Thayer College of Engineering has constructed a

remote controlled tackling dummy that will help simulate game scenarios

in practice without the player-on-player concussion risk.

It is amazing how rapidly companies have raced to solve a problem that

has plagued the NFL for generations, and how the number of proposed

tech-driven solutions is ever increasing. It was only in 2002 that Dr.

Bennet Omalu, made famous by Will Smith’s portrayal of him in the

movie “Concussion,” discovered CTE and the severe effects concussions

have on the brain.

Already, we have a number of viable options that need to be

implemented soon if the NFL is to take player safety seriously. But,

technology will have to work hand in hand with changes to rules if any

real progress is to be made.

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PLAYER TRAINING AND HEALTH

18 Image Source: Draftpros.com

PLAYER TRAINING AND HEALTH

Injuries are a given in the NFL. Every team dreads them, but cannot

avoid them in such a physical sport. Generally, the teams that make

it furthest in the playoffs are the ones with the deepest rosters. But is

there a way that technology can help bypass this situation, and help

those teams with less depth to make an extended playoff run?

Many new ventures believe so.

A few companies have made some serious headway this season with

regard to player assessment, injury prevention and diagnosis.

DorsaVi came first, gaining favor with the medical staff of the Saints

and Browns. Their technology uses the help of multiple different

sensors that are placed on specific regions of a player’s body in order

to assess bodily movements in addition to muscle activity near the

surface of the skin.

Kitman Labs, whose technology was taken on by the Dolphins right

before the season started, accomplishes much of the same injury

prevention work, but in a different manner. They have developed a

system that works without any sensors and doesn’t take much to set

up. Essentially, a player can stand in front of a high-definition camera

and perform a set amount of exercises, and they can get an injury

risk assessment in a matter of minutes.

The Giants just recently partnered with Quest Diagnostics, a

company that provides athlete performance testing, resulting in what

they call a “Blueprint for Athletes.” Quest does what Kitman and

DorsaVi do, but in a more rigorous and time consuming manner--

giving them guidance for intricacies such as nutrition and

thermoregulation.

The Broncos turned to a new twist on an old-fashioned tool in order to

get the best possible sleep for their players so that they can have

optimal recovery time--the pillow. Bedgear partnered with the Broncos,

giving each player a pillow that matches their individual profile for

betting sleeping and thus, recovery. The company also linked players

with local Denver Mattress to give them a proper mattress to match

their pillow.

19 Image Source: Bedgear.com

PLAYER TRAINING AND HEALTH

Another aspect of injury prevention is tracking all that a player does within a

practice or game, so as to not put too much stress on their body.

With wearable and sensor technology products rapidly coming to market in

the past few years, it was only a matter of time before one solution became

the favorite of NFL teams. And this favorite appears to be an Australian-

based company. This year, Catapult Sports, has its player tracking product

being used by almost a third of all NFL teams.

After breaking into the soccer and rugby markets, Catapult scored their first

NFL customer - the Jacksonville Jaguars. Catapult’s Optimeye system

tracks metrics such as acceleration, top speed and amount of distance

covered. But the most important metric is its PlayerLoad feature, which helps

safeguard players against overuse using an algorithm that measures an

athlete’s overall workrate.

Every NFL team utilizes some variety of wearables, whether or not they

ascribe to Catapult’s major hold on the NFL market. Four teams have turned

to a mainly European brand of wearable called STATSports--the Panthers,

Bengals, Chiefs and Raiders. STATSports’s Viper system is used by a

number of top European soccer teams as well, with one of its advantages

being that a trainer can sit on the sidelines of a practice and track exactly

what each player is doing at every moment via laptop.

CoachMePlus, who just broke into the NFL market with the Bills in August,

helps teams take the data they collect with wearables like Catapult or

STATSports to the next level. It has been helping the Bills analyze more

effectively what condition their players are in, and what nutritional guidelines

they should follow.

20 Image Source: Catapult

THE NEXT FRONTIER: COGNITIVE

PLAYER TRAINING As the sports training world knows, there is a multitude of

companies devoted to creating cutting-edge sport technologies to

squeeze an extra tenth of a second or ounce of exertion out of an

elite NFL player. But, there are also athlete training companies who

are focusing on training athletes above the neck. One such

company leading this area is Axon Sports. Axon prepares athletes

by approaching their mental training in the same way physical

training is performed; with expert feedback and repetition.

Axon, with an underlying science partnership with GlaxoSmithKline

and recent investment from Mark Cuban, has defined what they

consider to be the “Athletic Brain” which consists of high speed

decision making, visualization, emotional regulation, focus, reaction

and spatial reasoning. By measuring these traits in an athlete Axon

can develop assessment protocols that evaluate a player’s (from

high school on up to the pros) ability to make in-game decisions.

This has enormous potential for skill development, scouting and

training of NFL players who participate in a sport that relies on quick

thinking and having the proper instincts in place in order to react in a

fraction of a second.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of cognitive training for the NFL is

that players can train their minds without putting stress on their

bodies or adding to cumulative hits to the head which ultimately

leads to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (the biggest issue

plaguing the NFL right now).

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THE NEXT FRONTIER: COGNITIVE

PLAYER TRAINING Right now Axon is developing specific analytics programs linking the cognitive

performance of athletes to physical metrics. This platform allows athletes to

either use the Axon iPad app or visit an Axon performance facility and login

(picture walking up to a large touchscreen television) to a system that inputs

their sport and position and then takes them through sport-specific game

situations. For a football player this might mean that a quarterback can

process several hundred defensive alignments in a short amount of time.

So far the professional football realm has been accepting of this new type of

athlete training. Former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer

incorporated Axon’s technology into QBEpic, his elite quarterback training

academy. And Pro Football Focus, an advanced data and analysis supplier

for college and pro football, just announced a partnership to integrate their

player performance data with Axon’s system.

In addition to the NFL, Axon’s sports programs are serving baseball and

college football players.

To date, they have logged more than one million training repetitions for NFL

players and are ultimately a sports technology company that is leading the

charge in a new frontier for athlete training.

22

23

TECH

PARTNERSHIPS

24 Image Source: Microsoft

MICROSOFT

ROBERT ALFORD

JOHN BROWN

TED GINN JR.

MARTAVIS BRYANT

JEREMY MACLIN

The NFL’s biggest technology sponsorship can be

seen flashed across any NFL sideline or post-game

show. It is the five-year, $400 million deal with

Microsoft. One of the major components saw the

Microsoft Surface become the official tablet of the

NFL, taking over across NFL sidelines last season.

But, for the first time this season, players and

coaches were able to watch real-time replays of

what has just happened on the field. Last year,

teams could only review still frame photos of the on-

field happenings. Additionally teams have opted to

ditch their old-fashioned, paper playbooks, and

upload all of their plays to their Surface tablets.

Microsoft even has some access to data on players

that the teams themselves do not have. A subset of

the aforementioned Zebra RFID data is used on

Microsoft’s social platform apps. The NFL App on

Microsoft products, like the XBOX One and

Microsoft PCs, has a feature called “Next Gen

Stats.” In that section are games, interactive replays

and statistic leaderboards corresponding with

information coming from RFID chips.

HIGHEST MAX SPEED

25

EA GAMES Electronic Arts has had a working relationship with the NFL since the mid-90s,

having obtained official licenses for player and team likenesses for their

Madden NFL video game franchise. In other words, EA Sports has worked

with the NFL since the days of the Sega Genesis.

Since then, both sides have symbiotically worked together to improve each

respective party’s product and reach to fans. Apart from creating a new and

updated game each year, EA Sports and the NFL have worked towards some

new innovations this season.

For this past 2015 NFL Draft, EA Sports made avatars of 65 different players

entering into the NFL Draft, and added them into the game moments after they

were drafted by their respective team.

Jumping on the eSports bandwagon, the NFL and EA Sports partnered with

eSports live streaming platform Twitch to create a weekly broadcast on

Madden NFL live. The show stars NFL Network’s Adam Rank and former NFL

running back Maurice Jones-Drew covering the weeks biggest Madden online

plays, in addition to rankings and tips for the game.

AMAZON Interestingly, Twitch is owned and operated by the larger tech giant Amazon.

But, this is not the only instance where the NFL and Amazon have

collaborated this season. The NFL chose Amazon’s cloud system to distribute

the large amount of data that Zebra is collecting for the NFL. So Amazon will

be tasked with the job of handling this record-breaking amount of statistical

data for the NFL.

26 Image Source: Madden

OFFICIATING

One of the biggest issues of any sport, now that viewers

have the ability to watch replays from a multitude of

different angles, is how to reconcile traditional officiating

with the more recent advances in technology. While the

NFL was one of the first professional leagues to gravitate

towards the realm of play reviews, there are still

imperfections with the way rules are enforced.

There has been one major technological storyline with

regards to officiating and technology this season, and that

is pylon cameras. Historically, one of the toughest calls to

make is whether a player is out of bounds or broke the

plane of the endzone.

Back in October, the NFL began testing the possibility of

using pylon cameras, attaining quite a bit of data as to

whether this will actually lend a helping hand to referees.

The end zone pylons are fitted with multiple different

cameras, so referees reviewing a play can closely

determine out of bounds in both directions, in addition to

reviewing whether the ball has crossed the plane of the

end zone.

After the testing was done, NFL Commissioner Roger

Goodell approved the cameras to be used in game

situations. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham

Jr. was the first beneficiary of the cameras, having an

“incomplete catch” overturned in December. The correct

call was solely attributed to the pylon camera. 27

ImageSource: Officiator-search

TECHNOLOGY USED TO GROW

THE SPORT INTERNATIONALLY

Constantly looking to expand outside the realm of the United States, where

another type of football reigns supreme, the NFL has tried again and again to

gain an international fanbase. There was the trial of a botched football league

in Europe, which folded on two different occasions--in 1993 and 2007. Since

then, the NFL has been more coy with their outreach, and has been using

advancements in technology to help sway people to the sport.

Recently, the NFL has experienced the most success in Europe--in particular

the UK. The NFL has been consistently playing games in London over the past

few years, and is increasing the amount of games that will be played there next

season to three.

Additionally, the NFL is opting to, as mentioned earlier in this report, live

stream those games so as to cater towards those that do not have the

convenience of having American cable programs that show football.

To add to this European outlook the NFL announced in December a three-year

deal with Deluxe Entertainment Services Group. Deluxe’s digital distribution

platform will enable Europeans to watch seven games of regular season

football each week, all of the NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl.

Starting in 2018, those three NFL games played in London will be played in an

extremely new and technologically advanced stadium. The NFL struck a 10-

year deal with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur FC to use their

new stadium, which is currently being built. Getting this deal in before

construction allowed the NFL to have a stake in the design of the stadium. So,

underneath a retractable soccer field, which Tottenham will play on each week,

will be an NFL field.

28 Image Source: NFL

ATHLETES INVESTING

NFL careers are notoriously short and the large paychecks for

most players do not last for a significant portion of their life. So

more players are beginning to make investments with the large

amount of cash they currently have in order to set themselves

up for a more financially stable situation after they retire.

The NFL is onboard with this new business trend for its players

and set up a four-day, tech-focused business and

entrepreneurship program held at the University of

Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Over the half-week course,

thirty-two active and retired players were taken through the

steps it would take to own, work for, or invest in a tech

business.

This season, three notable NFL athletes have stood out when

making investments in the sports technology industry. The first

is Eagles running back Darren Sproles, whose use of silicone

compression apparel Enerskin led to his eventual backing of

the company. The products act as a combination of both

compression and taping to aid in an athlete’s training and

recovery.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate also invested in a

company looking to make an impact on sports. He chose to

partner with Gamebreaker, a company making soft-shelled

helmets for youth sports. With regards to football, these

helmets will be utilized in 7-on-7 football, and Tate’s money

looks to be going towards keeping the game of football safe

for those who play.

Marques Colston, of the Saints, has his money invested in

a wide variety of ventures. Similar to Tate, he has invested

in tech that looks towards having a safer sport with regard

to concussions. He is on the advisory board of Vicis, with a

couple of former NFL players, a company that is focused

on creating football helmets with a more malleable shell

that can absorb impact in a healthier way than more

conventional hard shell helmets. Colston also has his

hands in Enerskin, Sport Testing Inc., D1 Sports, Timeless

Herbal Care, IBR Ventures, VitaGenesis, Wat-Aah! and

Watercura.

Definitely worth a mention in addition to these three is Tom

Brady, who has a large stake in Under Armour, having

been given equity as part of his sponsorship deal with the

apparel company in 2010.

29

NFL AND STEM EDUCATION

30

SAN FRANCISCO AND 49ERS

Being the primary team in the tech Mecca of Silicon Valley, the

49ers have a unique opportunity to partner with a number of tech

companies, both with regard to innovating on the football field and

bringing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)

education to kids in the area.

In 2014, the 49ers opened a STEM education program, titled the

STEM Leadership Institute, in conjunction with their opening of the

new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers are

working with Chevron and the Santa Clara Unified School District to

make this idea a possibility. The two companies put $4 million into

creating a space for middle school and later high school students to

work and learn STEM skills.

With this, the 49ers Museum inside Levi’s Stadium has a classroom

setup, the Denise DeBartolo York Education Center, where students

can come to gain hands-on and interactive STEM learning

experiences. Just this year, the program partnered with Wonder

Workshop, a robotics company, allowing students to program and

interact with real robots and learn many of the skills that go along

with robotics.

One 49ers player has even taken STEM education personally and

introduced it to a camp he was individually hosting. Torrey Smith put

on a multi-sport camp at his former high school, and aside from

athletics, he included a session that focused on the academic tenets

of STEM.

Stanford graduate and Colts tight end Coby Fleener chose not

to focus at all on athletics and, instead, taught a group of 60

students how to code. The camp was dubbed “Coby’s Coding

Camp,” and was financed by software company Six Feet Up.

In November, the trifecta of EA Sports, the NFLPA and

Discovery Education announced a new national education

initiative that would cater towards teaching math and science to

students in grades five through nine. They call it “EA Sports

Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers.”

Students in the program would be able to participate in a field

trip to EA Sports’ Tiburon development studio to see much of

the goings on behind the scenes of Madden NFL games.

Additionally, there would be a local school night in their

community that would feature an NFL player.

31

LOOKING FORWARD: A

TECH-DRIVEN FUTURE

FOR THE NFL

Based on trends within this report, what may the future of the

NFL look like in the coming years (granted that it is not played by

robots) for fans? There will definitely be a focus towards mobile

platforms, as fans continue to interact with NFL content heavily

on digital devices, and the viewing revolutions of 4K, 8K and

virtual reality.

There will of course be a search for innovative ways to keep the

players healthy and ready to return to the field as safely as

possible. Look no further than the concussion section of this

report to see what is in store in the coming years for addressing

that issue. The NFL has to sort through the many technologies

they are investing in, and mesh those with rule changes. But

many existing and new technologies and products will be put to

use to try and keep players safe. It will just be a game of

integrating whatever is most effective since there are a multitude

of companies coming forward with new products.

The three main elements of the NFL that will be driven by a tech

evolution in the coming years center around new experiences

and content consumption methods for fans, teams investing in

technology to keep their expensive assets on the field longer and

concussion reduction solutions.

32 Image Source: Forbes.com

FUTURE OF THE VENUE

With Los Angeles officially getting an NFL franchise, what can fans have

in mind when preparing for their new Inglewood stadium due in 2019?

It might be useful to look at the most recently built stadium—the 49ers’

Levi’s Stadium, right in the heart of the tech capital of the world. Levi’s

Stadium takes fan experience to an all-time high. It is wired for the

complete mobile experience, allowing over 70,000 fans to access Wi-Fi

or 4G inside the stadium.

VenueNext, a name you will surely hear more of as stadiums get

connected, powers the Levi’s Stadium App. The app does everything for

users inside the stadium, from helping fans with parking to showing

instant replays to ordering food that can be delivered to any fan’s seat.

A partnership with Sony Electronics means that the stadium is outfitted

with 2,000 Sony screens, 70 of which have a 4K display.

Basically, a new stadium will be wired for the ultimate mobile

experience. It will be easier than ever for fans to navigate the many

concourses of a stadium, as well as the services offered by the venue.

Every major techie has noticed the ever increasing presence of

smartphones and tablets and the ways in which they can deliver media

and information. This is a trend that exists in full at all NFL stadiums and

teams will look to capitalize.

Screens are also seeing a resolution revolution, and as 4K and 8K

screens begin to hit markets, fans may be able to see in-house replays

better than ever before.

33 ImageSource: NFL

FAN EXPERIENCE

Teams are of course pumping out more content across more digital

platforms than ever before. Fans can easily follow their team from

anywhere in the world. But one new technology that holds a lot of potential

for creating a whole new type of fan experience is virtual reality.

Just last month, the Jets began exploring the usage of STRIVR technology

beyond helping quarterbacks train. The Jets used a 360-degree camera

and STRIVR’s virtual reality capabilities to give fans an insight into some

of the exclusive and exciting aspects of an NFL game--like a coin toss or

being amidst fans as they chant “J-E-T-S.” The Patriots and Eagles have

also worked with VR tech to create unique experiences for fans and this

will surely become a new content trend for teams.

Taking the cue from teams like the Jets, STRIVR has launched a division

dedicated solely to fan experience--the next frontier to be explored with

virtual reality in sports. While STRIVR has only begun to experiment with

small measures of this--putting fans in the shoes of some of their favorite

players--there is a world of possibilities.

It will surely only be a matter of time before VR companies like STRIVR or

NEXTVR give fans the opportunity to purchase some sort of package to

watch a live game in virtual reality from home. So, fans could get a

stadium-like experience from the comfort of their own couch.

34 Image Source: Seahawks.com

PLAYER HEALTH

While NFL teams have the intrinsic motivation of keeping their players healthy

in order to save them from agony, a team’s financial status also rests heavily in

every player’s well-being.

Not only do teams rely on quality of on-field performance to amass revenue,

but they can also trade their players for higher value than when they initially

signed them. And if the NFL does not solve the serious issue of concussions

soon, the pool of talent that they have will definitely decline, also having an

impact on their finances.

Nowadays, athletic trainers are more concerned about the prevention of injury

rather than the actual treatment of it. Having appeared earlier in this report,

companies like Kitman and DorsaVi will likely be an athletic trainer’s best friend

with regards to keeping players healthy in the long term. Their quick

assessments are an objective test to keep players from injuring themselves in

a practice or game.

Wayne Diesel, the Dolphins’ head of sports performance, employs concepts he

learned from European soccer to the game of football. He treats players as an

investment rather than merely something to maintain--using subtleties like

individually designed sports drinks and neuroacoustic software to keep his

players well rested and ready for the next day’s challenges.

The game of football gets more competitive every single NFL season. Players

are hitting harder and moving at a faster pace than ever before--leaving them

with greater risks for concussions and other injury. As long as the NFL

maintains their technological focus on player’ well-being, they cannot go wrong

in the coming years, in regards to both taking care of the human element of

their product and staying at the top of the American sports pyramid.

35 Image Source: News.Harvard.edu

ROUND TABLE INSIGHTS

36 Image Source: Insidethepylon.com

JASON SADA PRESIDENT,

AXON SPORTS

1. What problem is the NFL currently facing that technology

can solve?

With the reduction in full-speed practice time, players are

getting less experience and practice making extremely high

speed decisions. With less volume of these high speed

decisions, players are likely reducing the automaticity of their

decisions on the field. This can impact their performance and

also potentially put them at risk for injury. Technology enables

ways to supplement the players training to help reduce the

effects of less ‘real-world’ repetitions.

2. What might we see become the most popular trend or

storyline for next year's NFL season?

I would say the expanded use of analytics and data in the NFL

at both the team and league levels. This will likely include using

data for the purposes of enhancing: player evaluation, game

planning, athlete training and fan experience.

3. Whether it's from a broadcasting, player performance or

fan engagement perspective, in the next 5-10 years what is

the biggest change to the game that technology will

create?

In the next 5-10 years, I’d expect that technology will continue

to change and improve player safety through better diagnostics,

better treatment of injuries and ultimately more efficient ways to

develop elite level skills in an environment of reducing on-field

practice time. 37

DEREK BELCH STRIVR LABS CEO & FOUNDER

1. What problem is the NFL currently facing that technology

can solve?

There has been a lot of talk about how technology can help

officiating, from even more replay angles to different ways for

referees to train both in-season and in the offseason. VR has

been discussed as one of these training options. Obviously,

there is also the concussion issue, which technological

advances will undoubtedly help over the next several years.

2. What might we see become the most popular trend or

storyline for next year's NFL season?

From a tech standpoint, I think you will see continued efforts by

the NFL to improve fan engagement. Stadiums will continue to

improve their fan-offerings as it relates to fantasy football

tracking, mobile devices, etc.

Also, DFS will be a huge story heading into the 2016 season.

Don't be surprised if you see more states declare it illegal.

3. Whether it's from a broadcasting, player performance or

fan engagement perspective, in the next 5-10 years what is

the biggest change to the game that technology will

create?

Hopefully it's technological advances to help ease the issues

surrounding concussions. That would certainly be a welcome

improvement for both the game at large and the individuals

playing it. 38

ERIC

PETROSINELLI GENERAL MANAGER, ZEBRA

SPORTS AT ZEBRA

TECHNOLOGIES

1. What problem is the NFL currently facing that technology can

solve?

I would not term it as a problem but rather an opportunity. The NFL is a

well-managed sport, and always has an eye on innovation from a game

enhancement and fan engagement standpoint. There are many

technology initiatives the League is pursuing, some of which are

streaming of live games, enhanced tracking of players and objects on the

field, in-stadium communications infrastructure upgrades, various player

health and safety efforts, and the sideline of the future. In the future, I

would look for the League to continue to be on the forefront of technology

initiatives that will improve the game for the player, coach and fan.

2. What might we see become the most popular trend or storyline for

next year's NFL season?

I think the most popular storyline involving the NFL and technology will be

centered on the streaming of live games. The NFL's streaming test of a

London game between the Lions and Chiefs was a huge success last

year, so it's planning on doing even more in 2016. The league is

considering live streaming all three games scheduled for London next

season and is talking with Apple, Google and others about streaming

rights. Fans have an insatiable appetite for football and I think these

efforts will be very successful domestically and internationally.

3. Whether it's from a broadcasting, player performance or fan

engagement perspective, in the next 5-10 years what is the biggest

change to the game that technology will create?

I believe the biggest change in the game technology will create will

emanate from data that is collected from the NFL’s deployment of RFID

tracking technology and the creation of NFL Next Generation

Statistics. The tracking data, which will evolve to gather the precise

location of both players and the ball, and dimensionalize the game in new

ways from a fan engagement standpoint across broadcast, digital, mobile,

in-stadium and other channel; and from a football operations perspective,

improving coaching and scouting, and player health and wellness. 39

1. What problem is the NFL currently facing that technology can

solve?

Technology presents multiple opportunities to grow and advance our

game. From how we stay in touch with our fans in and out of the stadium,

to how the game is played, technology is playing a larger part. The game

should always be the primary focus, and technology should enhance the

game experience for fans, players, and coaches – not replace elements of

the game. We are gathering more and more data on players, plays,

officials, and fans and that data will be used to fuel rule changes, health

and safety initiatives, improve consistency of officiating, and provide new

stats and experiences for fans.

2. What might we see become the most popular trend or storyline for

next year's NFL season?

One of the things that is so exciting about the NFL is that you never

know. Our year round calendar is full of opportunities for our fans to

interact with their favorite teams. From Combine to Super Bowl, there is

never a dull moment.

3. Whether it's from a broadcasting, player performance or fan

engagement perspective, in the next 5-10 years what is the biggest

change to the game that technology will create?

In terms of the massive amounts of data that we are gathering on player

movement, I think clubs will begin to use this data more and more to

enhance their game planning. I also think that VR and other augmented

experiences will continue to develop and we will be there to provide

amazing NFL content. Technology will also continue to advance in the

area of player health and safety. Our collaborations with GE and Under

Armour have resulted in technological innovations that will better protect

our players on the field, and there is much more to come. We will continue

to invest in research and find new ways to implement technology that will

benefit players of all ages, across all sports.

MICHELLE MCKENNA-DOYLE

CIO OF THE NFL 40 Image Source:

Rollins.edu

2015-16 NFL TECH REPORT

Sponsored by

Published February 2, 2016

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