NFL and Microsoft Expand Partnership with AI Integration for Enhanced Game Analysis and Operations

Microsoft's new NFL deal could let you blame Copilot AI for terrible playcalls

The NFL and Microsoft have extended their arrangement that makes Surface tablets a familiar fixture on gameday sidelines, but naturally, now there's an AI-powered twist on top. While Tom Brady is no longer actively putting those slates in danger of destruction, they do have something to offer to coaches and players. Microsoft touts a GitHub Copilot-based feature that filters plays to make strategy calls based on the situation, and a Microsoft 365 Copilot-based dashboard that sorts spreadsheets for analysts in the booth to filter through game data quickly. Along with their multiyear contract extension, Microsoft and the NFL announced that the Sideline Viewing System for every team is now connecting to more than 2,500 Surface Copilot Plus PCs (complete with massive "Copilot" logos on the case carrying strap). I figure we'll be able to tell if AI is having an impact on the NFL when someone asks a coach about their prompts after a playoff game, as long as there aren't any more network issues to blame. The two claim that "analyzing draft prospect performance outside the NFL Combine, providing data-driven business and football operations insights to clubs, and driving productivity across all business functions, including finance, human resources, and events" will be next up for AI applications.

Microsoft and NFL announce multiyear partnership to use AI to enhance game day analysis

A referee reviews a play on a Microsoft Surface during the second half of the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on January 4, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Microsoft and the NFL announced on Wednesday that they're extending their partnership to bring real-time game data and analysis to coaches and players using Microsoft Copilot and Azure artificial intelligence. The multiyear partnership will upgrade the NFL's sideline viewing system by equipping 32 teams with more than 2,500 custom-built Microsoft Surface Copilot tablets to enhance data collection during game days. Microsoft and the NFL said the deal will also support operations by helping managers track factors such as weather delays or technical equipment issues. The NFL and Microsoft are not disclosing how long the extension will be or the total cost of the deal. "Enhancing the league is a responsibility we take seriously, and Microsoft has been a trusted sideline technology partner for over a decade. With Microsoft's AI technologies, including Copilot, we see tremendous opportunities to elevate the gameday experience for our clubs and deliver an even more compelling product to our fans," NFL Chief Information Officer Gary Brantley said in a press release. The extension builds on a long-standing partnership between Microsoft and the NFL. Since the 2014 season, all NFL teams have had access to league-provided, specially configured Microsoft Surface tablets, according to the NFL. Previously, Microsoft had more than 2,300 Surface sideline viewing system devices installed across the NFL. NFL Deputy CIO Aaron Amendolia told CNBC in an interview that the existing tablets have already been swapped out for the preseason and the new devices are being used on the field now. He said that during live games, players have only seconds on the bench between plays to analyze formations and look at different angles and pictures. AI helps players and coaches filter through that tremendous amount of data automatically, Amendolia said. "This is not AI making decisions. It's not AI informing decisions. What it really is, is AI allowing people to get at information faster with less manual intervention," Amendolia said. For coaches, Amendolia said game data such as snap counts or personnel counts on the field can be fed into an Excel sheet in real time with Copilot, which frees them from doing such tasks and calculations themselves. Most recently during the 2025 NFL Combine, coaches and scouts used Microsoft Azure AI to evaluate more than 300 prospective players for selection in the NFL draft. Microsoft said Wednesday that clubs will soon be able to use AI for drafts outside of the NFL Combine, as well as for productivity across all business functions, including finance, human resources and events. Football club staff will also soon be able to use AI agents for player scouting and salary cap management, Microsoft said. The league has already implemented a type of artificial intelligence into its OnePass fan guide app for events, Amendolia said, that can help with fan questions and answers. He said the NFL is trying to train that so-called agentic AI to be more customer service focused. The tech giant is also separately working to infuse Azure AI video tools during teams' practice sessions to help with coaching, evaluations and player injury assessments. Amendolia said this video component will involve automatically analyzing metadata so users can quickly find certain players, camera angles or plays in video footage.

Microsoft and NFL extend partnership, bringing AI and cloud tools to football sidelines and beyond

Microsoft is extending its longtime partnership with the National Football League, integrating AI and cloud tools into assorted workflows from the sidelines to front offices to stadium operations. The multiyear extension, announced Wednesday morning, will lean on technologies including Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI to usher in a "new era of AI innovation across the league," Microsoft said in a news release. The NFL and the tech giant first partnered in 2013 in a reported 5-year, $400 million deal, back when Microsoft wanted to showcase how Xbox could be used to watch live games and access fantasy football stats. Eventually, after a rocky sideline start, Microsoft's Surface tablet became the centerpiece, and it changed the game forever. In 2020, Microsoft and the league extended the deal, adding Microsoft's Teams collaboration tool to the mix for both teams and NFL staff. Now, the NFL's Sideline Viewing System -- with real-time game data and analysis tools -- has been upgraded with more than 2,500 Microsoft SurfaceCopilot+ PCs for 32 clubs, roughly 1,800 players, and more than 1,000 coaches and club football staff. Tech upgrades include: * A new feature built with GitHub Copilot allows coaches and players to filter plays based on criteria such as down and distance, scoring plays, and penalties so they can analyze formations, decipher coverages, and make more data-driven and strategic decisions. * A Microsoft 365 Copilot-powered dashboard helps club analysts in the coaching booth identify actionable insights faster to influence game strategies -- such as personnel groupings and snap counts. * Beyond the sidelines, AI could support roles like game operations managers with a Copilot-powered game day operations dashboard to better anticipate and plan such things as weather delays or technical equipment issues. * Microsoft is also working to infuse Azure AI video tools during practice sessions to aid in reviewing coaching, evaluations and player injury assessments. "Making sound decisions and putting players in the best spots on the field is a coach's ultimate responsibility," said Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams head coach, in a statement. "Microsoft Copilot enhances our efficiency and accuracy by breaking down complex data into digestible insights that can be quickly communicated to our players and help them realize their highest potential." Earlier this year, Microsoft rolled out a new AI assistant within its NFL Combine App used by coaches and scouts. The assistant, powered by Copilot, lets scouts ask questions and instantly get responses about player statistics from the NFL Combine, the week-long event that lets teams evaluate college football players ahead of the NFL Draft. Beyond the NFL, Microsoft also works with other sports leagues including the NBA and LALIGA. The NFL, meanwhile, has key tech partnerships with Amazon across live game streaming and cloud-fueled "Next-Gen Stats."

The NFL's Surface tablets are getting a massive AI upgrade

Why it matters: The league is trying to give coaches faster access to the data they want, while stopping short of letting the AI make decisions. Driving the news: The NFL and Microsoft on Wednesday announced an expanded, multiyear extension to their longtime partnership. * As part of the upgrade, Microsoft is providing teams 2,500 new Qualcomm-powered Copilot+ tablets leaguewide. * The tablets, which arrived before the start of the 2025 preseason, allow coaches and players to use Copilot to quickly pull up video clips from specific scenarios such as scoring plays or those on a certain down. Zoom in: Coaches up in the booth will have access to AI copilots that help them navigate massive Excel spreadsheets to track things like personnel groupings and snap counts. * In the past, coaches would track everything in the game using Excel, but often resorted to pen and paper to do their analysis of the data. * The league is also expanding its use of Microsoft devices to help folks on the business side with game-day operations. * Some teams, such as the San Francisco 49ers, have already been using AI to help with tracking wait times at entrances and concessions. (The league has let teams experiment with AI for non-football operations on game day but has, until now, prohibited on-field use.) Catch up quick: The NFL has been using Microsoft's tablets since 2014. There were initial glitches and frustrations -- including a few memorable moments of players and coaches manhandling the tablets. * "Whatever's in their hand is going to be the receiving end of the displeasure of the results," NFL deputy CIO Aaron Amendolia told Axios. * Adding insult to injury, the Microsoft-branded tablets were regularly referred to as "iPad-like tools." The big picture: Harnessing massive amounts of data to make better decisions has been a trend in sports for some time. The key is to ensure the technology is reliable and equitable, Amendolia said. * The NFL is also using AI to help identify unsafe plays and develop better protective gear and practices, in partnership with Amazon, as Axios showed off at last year's AI+ Summit in New York. Yes, but: The league -- at least for now -- is using AI to allow coaches and players to get to the information they want faster, but not allowing the technology to offer its own play call suggestions. Between the lines: The league hopes that the new devices relieve frustrations rather than adding to them. The primary goal of the tablets has always been to get teams more information faster. * Coaches only have about 40 seconds between plays. Before the Surface, it used to take several minutes to see data on what worked and what didn't in a play. * "There was this time lag that was preventing coaches and players from making faster decisions," Microsoft corporate VP Bryson Gordon told Axios. Go deeper: Olympics have big AI plans

Why the NFL just put AI on its roster

On Aug. 20, the NFL and Microsoft announced they are expanding their partnership to bring AI to the field. Integrating technologies like Azure AI and Microsoft Copilot, coaches and players across the 32 NFL teams may now have more efficient sideline evaluations and enhanced scouting insights. Beyond the playing field, the 30 franchise stadiums will also have AI available to streamline its operations during the multiyear partnership. "The NFL and Microsoft partnership is entering a new era, and we're proud the league is once again putting its trust in Microsoft to bring AI to the NFL," Corporate Vice President, Global Marketing, Microsoft, Bryson Gordon said in a blog post announcement. "Whether you're preparing for the championship or running a global enterprise, the principles are the same: insights matter, preparation is essential, and the ability to act quickly is critical."