Did Your Favorite NFL Player or Team Really Perform as Well as You Think in the 2020-2021 Season? These Stats Tell the Real Story!

In our Super Bowl press conference, we shared insightful data generated for the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Watch the replay to get the scoop on some of your favorite players and team tendencies ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

by John Pollard

February 05, 2021

One of the great things about serving as the NFL’s Official On-Field Player Tracking Technology Provider is that we’re able to identify unique insights about player and team performance – things that are easily missed, or just can’t be seen, by the naked eye. This is where Zebra’s tracking technology and information helps bring to life the story within the game.

For example, the 20,000 instrumented footballs used during the 2020-2021 season enabled us to collect real-time location, velocity, and rotation data (RPM) for all passes and kicks. And by putting nickel-sized RFID tags on more than 2,880 players (and all officials) throughout the regular season and playoffs, we’ve been able to calculate riveting figures for the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

No question, tracking data provides a specialized “on field” perspective – even during practice – and has truly made an impact on the game of football for players, coaches, officials and fans alike while changing the sports technology and information landscape for the global sports industry.

Of course, our unique partnership with the NFL and its teams has also given us access to coaches, players and executives over the years, all of whom have shared fascinating stories about their on- and off-field experiences with the league. Just this week, we were joined by NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent and NFL Linebacker Brandon Copeland for a Super Bowl press conference.

During this event, we:

Revealed which of these two teams has the highest ranked players in terms of speed
Reviewed how the team’s quarterbacks and defenses match up based on key regular season and playoff metrics
Discussed Zebra’s six-plus-year partnership with the league
Showcased the philanthropic activities being led by Troy and Brandon’s nonprofit organizations in communities across the U.S.

You should definitely check it out when you have a few minutes:

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John Pollard

John Pollard is the Vice President of Business Development for Zebra Sports and recognized as a visionary and thought-leader in sports statistics, analysis and technology.