Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is providing the power of artificial intelligence to teams across the National Football League to help playcallers make more informed in-game decisions.
Copilot and Azure AI, with strategic tools such as the Sideline Viewing System, or SVS, are expected to help offensive and defensive playcallers make the right call at the right time. The expanded partnership between the NFL and Microsoft will provide Surface Copilot+PCs to 1,800 players and 1,000 coaches and staff across the league.
“We are entering a new era of innovation at the NFL through our collaboration with Microsoft to deploy AI across key areas of the business,” said NFL Chief Information Officer Gary Brantley. “Enhancing the league is a responsibility we take seriously, and Microsoft has been a trusted sideline technology partner for over a decade.”
“There are external factors that distract you from being able to make the best decisions,” said Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. “You look back and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ By being able to have this technology, it will help you be able to make more consistent decisions that are in alignment with what you want to do to ultimately put your players in the best places in a game that has so many moving parts.”
The AI technology is also expected to help players and coaches off the field in areas such as studying playbooks or preparing for the next opponent.