Why the NFL Chose Wearables Over Cameras and What Changed - Josh Helmrich, NFL #260

In this episode of the Sports Tech AllStars Podcast, we present Josh Helmrich, Senior Director of Media Strategy, Business Development and Next Gen Stats at the NFL.The conversation explores how the NFL went from zero player tracking data to a platform that powers broadcast graphics, officiating decisions, coaching strategy, health and safety research and the Madden video game - and what the next evolution of that platform looks like now that optical tracking has entered the picture.TakeawaysNext Gen Stats started as a working project name that nobody gave much thoughtThe NFL chose wearable ultra-wideband tracking over optical at the start because of the unique occlusion challenges in American football In the first game of tracking, the NFL collected more data than in the entire history of the league combinedMarrying optical and wearable tracking together is the real unlock The Big Data Bowl identified a winning rushing yards model from a Japanese team that had never watched American football and did not speak EnglishBall tracking at the bottom of a pile-up remains an unsolved problem The NFL now has 29 data points per player at 10 frames per second Innovation partners do not need to wait for the NFL to come to them The Big Data Bowl has become a talent pipeline, placing graduates directly into NFL clubs and the league officeTo learn more, visit: https://nextgenstats.nfl.comGet in touch with Josh Helmrich at: linkedin.com/in/josh-helmrich-07a93510 Hosted by ⁠Rohn Malhotra⁠ from ⁠SportsTechX⁠ - Leading source of Investment and Innovation insights in sports. As promised, here's your small surprise:Unlock your 30-day growth plan (worth €49) on the SportsTechX Intelligence Hub for free!Simply verify your company details and you get access to 1,500+ investors, programmes, initiatives and events in the sportstech ecosystem.Here's how to get set up and if you'd like a walkthrough of the platform, feel free to book a call here.More from SportsTechX:Explore the SportsTechX Intelligence Hub, an interactive database of over 8,000 sports tech companies, 8,000+ deals, 1,000+ investors, programs and events - HEREDownload the latest Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report - HERESign Up for the Sports Tech Weekly Newsletter for more news, features & insights on Sports Tech - HERE Stay Connected and follow for more:LinkedInYouTubeSpotifyApple PodcastChapters00:00 Introduction02:11 Sports Innovation Düsseldorf and the NFL in Europe03:17 How the NFL Is Building an International Fan Base05:18 The Origin of Next Gen Stats 06:02 Why the NFL Chose Wearable Tracking Over Optical08:17 The Evolution of Sensors10:34 Why Optical Tracking Took 10 Years to Arrive in the NFL12:27 Ball Tracking in Football vs Other Sports13:17 Was There a Plan or Did the Use Cases Reveal Themselves?14:27 Enabling Coaches, Officials and Health Teams to Find Their Own Use Cases15:49 AWS, the Big Data Bowl and Opening Up NFL Data16:33 What the Big Data Bowl Actually Is and Why It Works18:24 The Japanese Team That Won Without Ever Watching American Football20:31 How the Big Data Bowl Became a Talent Pipeline for NFL Clubs21:45 How the NFL Evaluates and Partners With New Technology Providers22:56 The Unsolved Problem: Ball Tracking at the Bottom of a Pile-Up24:09 What Kind of Technology the NFL Is Actively Looking For25:09 What the Next 12–18 Months Look Like for Next Gen Stats26:23 A Call to Action for International Sports Tech Innovators27:42 Favourite Sporting Moment