Does Your Vision for Footballs Future Match These Tech Predictions?
March 31, 2017 • Blog Post • BY QUARTZ CREATIVE
IN THIS ARTICLE
- From black-and-white printed photos to IoT-powered shoulder pads, we explore the evolution of football tech
Football finds a way to balance technology with tradition
American football has been among the slowest of the major sports to adapt to changes brought forth by technology. It’s hard to believe, but a mere two years ago, coaching assistants would print out black-and-white images of opposing team’s formations and run them to coaches for review. Now, the NFL is on a mission to “balance technology with tradition.” All stadiums are equipped with sideline Wi-Fi, which delivers imagery and data to the tablets used by players and coaches at the field level, and teams are hiring frequency coordinators to make sure the many wireless communications in play have the necessary bandwidth. The level of connectivity in facilities will improve in the coming years across the league, further shaping the game. The next revolution may be real-time analytics, which could arrive as soon as the league starts sharing the information it’s starting to collect with teams. In time, matchups and play routes will be decided less by gut and more by data. Click through the infographic below to learn more.