How the NFL Is Using AI to Up Their Game

Published: September 15, 2025

NFL — Photo from Adrian Curiel via Unsplash

By Shawn Smith

AI might not be the first thing to come to mind when you hear the word “football,” but the NFL uses the technology from helping referees make calls to scouting for new players.

Prime Video introduced Pocket Health, an AI tool added to their THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL broadcast that gives viewers “dynamic on-screen visuals and statistics that illustrate threat levels affecting the QB’s protection in the pocket.”

Another AI addition to TNF is the End Of Game suite that shows onscreen potential outcomes from different plays, even analyzing time left as a result from different scenarios.

According to Alex Strand, Amazon Prime Video Senior Coordinating Producer, the new AI-powered visuals are simply just “the math” commentators and fans are already doing.

“If you think about any of your own experiences when you’re watching a game, your team is behind, it’s a close game. There’s only one question on your mind: ‘How does my team win?’ That’s it,” Strand told Deadline.

Adding the new data features has been a complex procedure that is akin to a James Bond movie and the Q laboratory that develops his high-tech gear, according to Strand.

“I don’t think he ever gives Q very many notes, but we’re like Q’s laboratory…And then we go back and we test more stuff, and we come back and say, ‘How about this now?’” he said.

AI isn’t just being used for viewer enhancements, but for the actual game itself. Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology accurately determines whether the ball reached the line to gain for a first down. While the officials still make the call, it will aid them in their decision while cutting down time.

Introducing the new virtual measurement system for first downs, which allows the NFL to accurately and efficiently measure the distance between the spotted ball and the line to gain. pic.twitter.com/QvlsSmWnSo

— NFL (@NFL) August 1, 2025

“Combining the art of officiating with Sony’s trusted Hawk-Eye system is a healthy recipe for success in our commitment to raising the standards of accuracy, consistency and efficiency,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said.

NFL teams use AI for “deep analysis [that] helps in understanding opponents’ strategies, identifying patterns, and predicting future plays,”per Forbes.

Coaches have also used AI-powered sensors in equipment to measure performance by analyzing movement on the field and analyze player stats for scouting new talent as well.

As use of AI in any profession, it’s best used with caution and awareness of its limitations.

Even Lee Mooney, who uses AI in data analysis for Britain’s City Football Group, said,” One challenge for people in the AI space is that a lot of those who are leading it can be too detached from the human side. They don’t see themselves as being vulnerable to advancements in technology.”

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