NFLPA Leverages AI to Bolster Player Safety
August 14, 2024 – The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is employing cutting-edge technology to improve player safety and streamline operational processes. By partnering with Microsoft and Xoriant, the NFLPA is using Azure AI Services to revolutionize how it reviews video footage of offseason practices.
The NFLPA, dedicated to protecting professional football players, faced a significant challenge in ensuring player safety during the offseason. With all 32 teams participating in nine weeks of practice sessions, each lasting two hours, manually reviewing the vast amounts of video footage to identify potential rule violations was an extremely time-consuming process.
“Contacts can vary, and it’s a bit of a subjective view for staff in the Players Association to look at the film and decide if the contact was inadvertent,” says Lester Archambeau, Senior Player Director at the NFLPA. “And with the staff we have, we just don’t have the capacity to look at all of the footage.”
The NFLPA sought a more efficient solution, and they turned to Microsoft and their partner, Xoriant, to employ advanced AI systems that could reduce the time spent reviewing footage and free up staff to focus on other critical tasks.
The Challenge of Video Review
The NFLPA, established in 1956, advocates for the rights of professional football players. A key responsibility is ensuring safe practice conditions during the offseason, a period of no-contact training designed to protect players. During this period, teams are required to adhere to strict guidelines. To this end, the NFLPA monitors video recordings of these practices to guarantee that all regulations are being observed.
Teams collectively generate a staggering 256 hours of footage each week. The manual video review process quickly proved unsustainable, resulting in a reactive approach where only potentially suspicious footage was examined.
AI-Powered Solution
In 2022, the NFLPA reached out to Microsoft for a comprehensive solution using AI and innovative technologies. Microsoft connected the NFLPA with Xoriant to develop a customized solution.
Working with Xoriant and Microsoft, the NFLPA created AI-powered tools using Azure AI Services and Azure App Service to analyze the practice videos. The system can scan the footage from all 32 teams – comprising 22 players each on the field – and highlight possible rule violations for review by the NFLPA staff.
The implementation of AI has shown great promise, with the NFLPA anticipating time savings of up to 73% and freeing its staff up for additional responsibilities supporting players.
“In any given practice, the players are doing 60 plays, each lasting about three to five seconds,” says Archambeau. “If this tool can tell me there are 10 plays to review, I’m happy with that because it has saved me from having to review the other plays. I anticipate this saving us a great deal of time.”
Beyond its core functions, the NFLPA is also utilizing Azure Virtual Machines and Microsoft Power BI to track player performance, which enables the enforcement of consistent rules. The goal is to protect players and ensure consistent practices across the league.
Future Outlook
The NFLPA is optimistic about the opportunities afforded by their partnerships with Microsoft and Xoriant. They continually strive for a safer and more efficient practice environment for the players.
“We’re using technology to protect every play they’re doing,” says Persons. “We’re making sure the rules are enforced to a tee and that that’s 100% consistent across all 32 teams.”
The NFLPA is enthusiastic about the potential of AI to create a better practice season for all professional football players and also hopeful regarding future collaborations with Microsoft and Xoriant.
