Performance Intelligence To Enhance Evaluation Of Players Heading Into NFL Draft

Zebra Technologies Corporation has announced that Zebra will be the first company to implement RFID player tracking technology to deliver important player performance during the Reese’s Senior Bowl as well as the practices leading up to the game. NFL coaches, scouts and general managers will receive player tracking and performance data to assist them in their evaluation and scouting of some of the top college players. Zebra will also sponsor the Reese’s Senior Bowl game on Jan. 27, 2018 which will be played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama and will be aired on the NFL Network.

Zebra’s Sports’ Solution tracking data will be highlighted throughout Senior Bowl week and shared via Senior Bowl social media channels from game time through the NFL 2018 draft. The Zebra Sports Solution attaches RFID tags to a player’s equipment to track their movements on the field, which enables coaches to gather performance data including each player’s practice participation, speed and acceleration information, distance traveled by period, drill, and throughout the entire practice session.

Sean Payton, Head Coach, New Orleans Saints states “The New Orleans Saints benefit from the data provided by Zebra as it gives us the visibility we need to make the right calls during each of our practices and in preparation for our games. Our recruiting efforts will also be enhanced as we can better evaluate and scout college players based on data generated at the Senior Bowl.”

Phil Savage, Executive Director, Senior Bowl quotes “With 500 former players on active NFL rosters, the Senior Bowl features the future stars of the league. We are thrilled to work with Zebra so that we have the best real-time tracking technology to help evaluators get the details about each player’s performance to build successful teams.”

Zebra is the “Official On-Field Player Tracking Provider” for the NFL. About one-third of NFL players have played in the Senior Bowl, football’s premier senior showcase that annually features the country’s best top senior collegiate players and NFL draft prospects.

As a global leader in location solutions, Zebra provides tracking technology globally for enterprises of all sizes in healthcare, retail, manufacturing and transportation and logistics to give them real-time operational visibility.

John Pollard, Vice President, Business Development, Zebra Sports says “Zebra Sports looks forward to providing the real-time player data to support the evaluation and assessment needs of the NFL. Our engagement will enhance the overall experience of the Senior Bowl with unprecedented tracking capabilities during practices and the game.”

Zebra will again track all players and kicks off tracking solution in all game footballs…next gen stats to be distributed across nfl.com, NFL network, and league partners

Zebra Technologies Corporation  has announced analytics enhancements will allow fans to gain a deeper understanding of the game by accessing new visualizations, stats and fantasy recommendations never available before. In collaboration with Wilson Sporting Goods, supplier of the Official Game Football of the NFL, Zebra will engineer and deploy RFID tagged footballs for every game during the 2017 NFL season. This enables the collection of real-time location, speed, and rotation data for the footballs.

As the “Official On-Field Player Tracking Provider” of the NFL, Zebra marks the fourth year of its partnership with the NFL this season. To enable data collection during NFL games, Zebra and Wilson attach RFID tags in player equipment to track their movements and provide enlightening and interesting information. As part of “Next Gen Stats”, data from the instrumented Wilson footballs has the potential to be leveraged on media platforms, such as NFL.com and in-game telecasts, to enhance the fan experience.

Beyond media platform use, the NFL’s Competition Committee will evaluate the football data to determine how the NFL Clubs can best leverage the data in the future. Working with the NFL and Wilson, Zebra successfully tested the tagged football during all last year’s preseason and Thursday Night Football games.

The data resulting from this season’s analytics enhancements will be used by broadcasters as well as other media partners to enhance the fan experience. Zebra and Wilson determined and validated the optimal size of the RFID tag and location to embed the tag within the ball to maintain maximum performance while adhering to the NFL’s specifications for game footballs.

The RFID tags will measure location and performance data, captured 25 times per second for every play in every game for the 2017 season. The ball data is collected at twice the rate of player tracking data as the ball travels at more than twice the speed of the players. In addition to instrumenting and tracking the footballs for the 2017 season, Zebra will once again deploy its Sports Solution on NFL game days by embedding RFID tags in players’ shoulder pads to track movement, providing metrics such as player speed, distance traveled, acceleration and deceleration.

Jill Stelfox, Vice President and General Manager, Location Solutions, Zebra Technologies says “We are thrilled to further support the NFL’s mission to enhance football through cutting-edge technology by continuing to grow the Zebra Sports solutions portfolio. Tracking the football is the logical next phase of our collaboration with the NFL, and we’re eager to continue evolving the game of football for fans, broadcasters and coaches alike.”

A growing number of NFL teams use Zebra’s Sports practice solution, including the New Orleans Saints who are looking forward to leveraging the new information provided by the tagged footballs in practice, particularly as it pertains to our QB and special teams play.

The Zebra Sports Solution leverages the same tracking and location solutions technology that Zebra implements globally for enterprises of all sizes in healthcare, retail, manufacturing and transportation & logistics to give visibility to an organization’s assets, people and transactions.

Vishal Shah, Senior Vice President, Digital Media, NFL says “We’re excited to build on our partnership with Zebra Technologies and collectively further the league’s commitment to innovation. The data gathered by Zebra over the past three seasons has become an invaluable asset to the NFL, and we’re excited to uncover new insights through the tagged Wilson footballs.”

Kevin Murphy, General Manager of Team Sports, Wilson Sporting Goods Co. quotes “We have a rich history of innovation in the game of football and working closely with the NFL to advance and enhance the game for players and fans alike. It’s been rewarding and exciting to collaborate with Zebra and the NFL on making RFID tagged footballs a reality, and we look forward to putting this technology on the field this season.”

Zebra realizará el seguimiento de los jugadores con la implementación de su solución en todos los partidos

La próxima generación de estadísticas será distribuida en NFL.com, NFL Network y League Partners

Zebra Technologies Corporation ha anunciado mejoras analíticas que permitirán a los fans conocer en profundidad el juego al acceder a nuevas visualizaciones, estadísticas y recomendaciones. Zebra, en colaboración con Wilson Sporting Goods, proveedor de Offical Game Football de la NFL, incluirá etiquetas RFID en los balones, lo que permite recopilar datos en tiempo real sobre localización, velocidad y rotación. Se trata del cuarto año de Zebra como “proveedor oficial de seguimiento del jugador en el campo” de la NFL.

Gracias a la colación de etiquetas RFID en el equipamiento, se siguen sus movimientos y se recopilan información útil durante los partidos. Como parte de “Next Gen Stats”, la información de los balones de Wilson se puede utilizar en las diferentes plataformas de medios como NFL.com para mejorar a experiencia de los fans.

Además, el Comité de Competición de la NFL evaluará los datos para determinar cómo los clubes pueden aprovecharlos. Junto con la NFL y Wilson, Zebra probó el balón con etiqueta en la pretemporada del año pasado y en los partidos del jueves por la noche.

Los datos provenientes de las mejoras se utilizarán por las emisoras y los medios partner con el fin de mejorar la experiencia fan. Zebra y Wilson determinaron el tamaño de las etiquetas RFID siguiendo las especificaciones de la NFL para que el rendimiento de los balones no se viera afectado. Éstas medirán la localización y rendimiento, capturando datos 25 veces por segundo.

Además del seguimiento de los balones, Zebra implementará Sports Solution en los partidos con etiquetas RFID en las hombreras de los jugadores para conocer su movimiento, proporcionando métricas como la velocidad, distancia recorrida, aceleración y deceleración.

Cada vez más equipos de la NFL utilizan la solución Zebra Sports, ya que aprovecha la misma tecnología de seguimiento y localización que se implementa a nivel global en empresas de sectores como salud, retail, fabricación y transporte y logística para dar visibilidad a los activos empresariales, a las personas y a las transacciones.

Vishal Shah, Senior Vice President, Digital Media, NFL comenta “Estamos emocionados de fortalecer nuestra relación con Zebra Technologies y llevar más allá el compromiso innovador de la liga. Los datos proporcionados por Zebra durante las últimas tres temporadas se han convertido en activos clave para nosotros y vemos con entusiasmo qué nueva información podemos conseguir con los balones de Wilson”.

Jill Stelfox, Vice President and General Manager, Location Solutions, Zebra Technologies indica  “Estamos entusiasmados de apoyar la misión de la NFL en relación a la mejora del football con tecnología de vanguardia gracias al avance del portfolio de soluciones de Zebra Sports. El seguimiento del balón es un paso lógico en nuestra colaboración con la NEFL y estamos decididos en evolucionar el juego para los fans, las emisoras y los entrenadores”.