The NFL has compiled tracking data on every player’s movement in every game since 2014, but teams used that information so sparingly that it became a running joke among the players, with union executive Ahmad Nassar estimating that 30 of the 32 franchises ignored the data altogether.
A key factor holding back the analysis and its strategic implementation was that clubs only received their own players’ data. Coaches and front offices couldn’t scout opponents or free agents. The tracking provider, Zebra Technologies, offers a software platform with a play illustrator for diagramming X’s & O’s — but each team had only X’s or O’s, not both.
That will change next month, as first reported by NFL.com, with all teams receiving the global league-wide tracking data sets for the 2016 and 2017 seasons as well as weekly updates throughout 2018 thanks to a vote from the NFL’s Competition Committee.
“When you only have one side of the ball, you have a very limited amount of utility you can get out of the data itself,” Zebra Sports’ vice president of business development, John Pollard, said, noting that in the last year he’s observed an “interesting change point where teams are far, far more educated and interested on how to utilize that data” with an appreciation for how tracking data “can impact and help teams become more efficient and effective in their decision-making.”
After meeting with the majority of the league at last week’s scouting combine, Pollard relayed a real enthusiasm about the newfound analytic possibilities, providing objective data to supplement (but not replace) team personnel’s scouting expertise. New data points could emerge, such as a wide receiver’s average separation from a defensive back or a linebacker’s downhill tackling closing speed or a the burst of a player in open space.
When the data is disseminated league-wide — estimated to happen in April — Pollard said Zebra will enhance its software capabilities to help teams interpret this wealth of new information, as would the NFL develop new features in its Next Gen Stats website to help teams manage and use the data.
Zebra is entering the final season of its initial five-year contract with the NFL, but Pollard reported that there is “energy” on both sides to extend the deal. During the entirety of the deal, each player has had an RFID chip in his shoulder pads on game day. A third of the league uses the system to monitor practice as well. Beginning last fall, a tracking chip was placed in every football used on game day as well.
Why it’s taken so long to for broader data distribution isn’t entirely clear, but Pollard noted that the genesis of the partnership was initiated to increase fan engagement and entertainment through the broadcast and availability of Next Gen Stats. Football operations was involved but not the primary driver.
Dallas Cowboys executive Stephen Jones, who as Competition Committee member urged the full release of the data, articulated one of the slowdowns to Sports Business Journal two years ago.
“I can see where maybe people see ghosts and [say] ‘Are we staffed up enough as the next guy?’” he said. “There is always the question of the arms race and the resources to actually make heads or tails of the data. There are things that people get nervous about.”
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There may well be a reciprocal rise in front office headcount across the NFL this spring and summer as teams scramble to hire data-savvy analysts to find whatever advantage they can.
“The league is very pragmatic and analytical and thoughtful when introducing new technologies and information resources to the club membership,” Pollard said. “They consider very carefully the impact on the integrity of the game and competitive balance, and we as a partner are there to support that as well.
“With 32 clubs, 32 different cultures, 32 different types of resources and perspectives on technology and information, it just suddenly got to this point where now there’s this comfort level.”