Microsoft NFL
Back in 2013, Microsoft first announced its partnership with the NFL to promote its Xbox and Surface product lineups. The deal was reported to be around $400 million over five years, and Microsoft provided technology to enhance the NFL fan experience. Later in 2017, the NFL extended its deal with Microsoft.
Today, Microsoft and the NFL announced the expansion of their partnership to bring AI to the sidelines. Apart from Surface hardware, the deal now includes Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, Azure AI, and more.
First, the NFL’s Sideline Viewing System (SVS) has been upgraded with more than 2,500 Microsoft Surface Copilot+ PCs for the 32 NFL clubs, involving about 1,800 players and more than 1,000 coaches and club football staff. These upgraded Surface PCs will be used for real-time game data and analysis tools.
To aid coaches and players in making data-driven and strategic decisions, a new feature built using GitHub Copilot can filter plays based on various criteria such as down and distance, scoring plays, and penalties to quickly analyze formations, decipher coverages, and more.
Microsoft has also created a Microsoft 365 Copilot-powered dashboard in Excel that will help club analysts in the coaching booth get actionable insights faster, including personnel groupings and snap counts.
Beyond the sidelines, Microsoft is also working with the NFL to bring the power of AI to game operations managers. For example, they are working on a Copilot-powered game day operations dashboard to track and categorize key game day incidents, such as weather delays or technical equipment issues, that will help them in future decision-making.
Microsoft is also working to bring the power of Azure AI video tools to individual clubs. The clubs can use the practice session videos for reviewing coaching, evaluations, and player injury assessments.
Finally, Microsoft has created AI agents to support NFL clubs in different use cases, such as player scouting and salary cap management.