NFL, Zebra Technologies Expand on Third Year of Partnership

Zebra Technologies announced the evolution of its partnership with the NFL. Zebra will again be deploying the Zebra Sports Solution across all NFL stadiums in the US, plus Wembley and Twickenham Stadiums in London and Estadio Aztech in Mexico City for the NFL International Series as well as Camping World Stadium in Orlando for the Pro Bowl.
 
For the first time, the NFL has been using Zebra’s RFID tags in every football during the preseason. Additionally, beginning this season, each NFL club will be provided data generated by the Zebra Sports Solution.
 
As the official on-field player tracking provider of the NFL, this season marks the third year of Zebra’s partnership with the NFL. The Zebra Sports Solution attaches RFID tags in player equipment to track their movements, with the ultimate goal of providing informative, interesting and helpful metrics such as player speed, distance traveled, alignment, acceleration and deceleration.
 
Zebra developed an instrumented football with Wilson Sporting Goods containing a Zebra RFID tag, which is being used in all 2016 NFL preseason games. Also new this season, the NFL will furnish each team in the league with data generated by the Zebra Sports Solution. These statistics will allow teams to evaluate athlete performance and coaching strategy in ways never before possible. RFID sensors installed in stadiums capture players’ movements with unparalleled accuracy, fueling the NFL’s “Next Gen Stats.”
 
“‘Next Gen Stats’ is entering its third season, and we continue to enjoy working with Zebra to give fans and teams a deeper look into the game they love,” said Vishal Shah, VP, Digital Media, NFL. “Zebra’s focus on innovation has led to advancements in the whole system, from improved software to smaller devices. For example, these improvements now enable us to track objects beyond players, such as the ball, which we are currently testing. We are excited for the 2016 season and for the tracking technology to help teams evolve training, scouting and evaluation through increased knowledge of player performance as well as to provide ways for our teams and partners to enhance the fan experience.”
 
“As the official on-field player-tracking provider of the NFL, we are committed to supporting the league’s ongoing initiative to improve the way fans, teams and networks watch, coach, play and analyze the game,” added Jill Stelfox, VP and GM, Location Solutions, Zebra Technologies. “The Zebra Sports Solution enriches all dimensions of the game, from coaches using motion data and aggregated statistics to evaluate athlete performance and strategy to broadcasters integrating next generation data to enrich their broadcast and deepen the fan experience. Our revolutionary player tracking system promises to continue to improve the entire experience of the 2016 NFL season.”