In the game of football, even the longest plays only last around about 10 seconds. Analyzing a game is no easy task with so many players with different jobs. Calculating things like speed and player performance can be difficult to calculate by hand, but stats help us see the game in a more quantitative way. The NFL has thought about this and chose to implement new technology to help the stat lovers — both on the team and in the stands.
In 2022, the NFL introduced a partnership with Amazon Web Service, which helps generate new stats for the game. You can now see how aggressive a wide receiver or defender is, how fast a quarterback throws or even the odds of scoring a touchdown. These are just a small example of the things AWS can keep track of in real-time data.
AWS is mainly possible using AI. When you are watching a game you can see how tightly a wide receiver is covered by a defensive back, but AI can see things like percentage covered, chance of interception and more. AI can identify target separation and even the rate of defensive schemes being played on a second or third down.
AWS helps track players’ performance and how they play in various aspects of the game. This can help teams identify their players’ strengths and weaknesses to tailor training to be more efficient. It also helps keep fans immersed in the game — seeing how well a player is playing can add immensely to the experience.
AWS also brings important injury protection stats. Given a play, AWS can analyze how much of an injury risk there is and how it can be prevented, which is great for teams and players. According to Sports Business Journal, the NFL has already seen a 24% reduction in concussions as a result of AWS. This influences not only the success of a team but the longevity and well-being of individual players. Players also started to wear position-based helmets designed for the best protection for their needs, based in part on suggestions from AWS.
The NFL and AWS also teamed up to make a playable game on the app store as well. The game, Playbook Pass Rush, allows users to call a play based on real NFL data. The game uses over 90,000 plays as a reference base. The game’s main goal is to advertise and improve “pressure probability,” which is what the AWS uses to track components of a live game. This is huge because it helps fans interact with the live games rather than just the stats.
Another feature is real-time decisions. In an NFL game, plays are created and executed within seconds. AWS technology can process this data in real time. It’s like playing a game of Madden while using real data based on what works and doesn’t work. Team staff can use this technology to adapt their game plan to improve their chances — and if opposing teams both adjust based on AWS, we could see more competitive games than ever before. We’ve already seen that the decision-making aspect of the technology is trusted by the NFL and its staff, creating a world in which the NFL displays how much skill and strategy are truly in the world of football analytics.
There is so much we can take away from the NFL integrating AWS in their game. We can look ahead and see what is to come for the league itself. From what we have now, we can only imagine. We can also look at this in other sports and investigate how algorithms can assist us. Technology has already entered other sports, with instant replay in various sports, Hawk-Eye ball trajectory tracking in tennis and courtside VR in the NBA. Thanks to the implementation of AWS in the NFL, football is becoming safer and more engaging.
