1. 2015-16 NFL TECH REPORT
BY ALEX STANLEY
Published February 2, 2016
Copyright 2016 SportTechie LLC
Sponsored by

2. 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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3. ““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

4. NEW MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS
2
Image Source: Entrepreneur.com

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. “ “
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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10. VIRTUAL REALITY
8
Image Source: Artstechnica.com

11. 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.
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Image Source: Bizjournals.com

12. 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
TEAMSNFL
TEAMS
10

13. 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.
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Image Source: NextVR

14. “ “
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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15. 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.
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Image Source: Forbes.com

16. 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.
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Image Source: NFL.com

17. 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.
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Image Source: Huffingtonpost.com

18. 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

19. 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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20. PLAYER TRAINING AND HEALTH
18
Image Source: Draftpros.com

21. 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.
19Image Source: Bedgear.com

22. 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

23. 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).
21

24. 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

25. 23

26. TECH
PARTNERSHIPS
24
Image Source: Microsoft

27. 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.
HIGHESTMAX
SPEED
25

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. NFL AND STEM EDUCATION
30

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. ROUND TABLE INSIGHTS
36
Image Source: Insidethepylon.com

39. 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

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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:

43. 2015-16 NFL TECH REPORT
Sponsored by
Published February 2, 2016
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