Microsoft and the National Football League (NFL) have extended their deal. This time, Copilot AI will now play a larger role in American Football.
While Microsoft has been the official technology partner of the NFL, which supplies the league with Surface tablets over the years, the software company is now touting its AI-powered experiences to be added to the games.
In this setup, Microsoft's Copilot will now be able to make playcalls and sort through massive data during games, touting its real-time analysis capabilities in practice.
Microsoft's Copilot AI Takes Over the NFL
The NFL and Microsoft have announced that they are extending their partnership deal with a new multiyear agreement that would retain the software giant as its official technology sponsor.
However, as new technologies from Microsoft emerge, including their affinity for artificial intelligence, "the era of AI innovation" is also taking over the NFL.
"We are entering a new era of innovation at the NFL through our collaboration with Microsoft to deploy AI across key areas of the business," said NFL CIO Gary Brantley.
Copilot AI Makes Playcalls, Data Analysis
According to Microsoft, the NFL's Sideline Viewing System for the clubs and organizations has been upgraded using more than 2,500 SurfaceCopilot+ PCs featuring real-time game data and analysis tools.
On the other hand, Microsoft also introduces the GitHub Copilot that will help teams to filter plays to quickly analyze games, as well as make more "data-driven and strategic decisions."
Microsoft and the NFL
It has been more than a decade since Microsoft and the NFL struck a deal to have the Redmond-based tech giant power the American Football league with its Surface tablets as its "official sideline technology sponsor."
Despite Microsoft paying as much as $400 million to the league to make it the exclusive tech, it still faced criticisms from NFL commentators and players.
Microsoft has improved the NFL using its Surface tablets and other technologies present in the league one way or another, with the partnership already spanning 12 years since they first started. The relationship went through a lot, including the time when Tom Brady threw a Surface tablet out of frustration in 2022.
Microsoft's Surface Chief, Panos Panay, played on the joke, saying that the device would survive.
The NFL still continues to use the Microsoft Surface tablets all these years, and they have renewed their deal with the Big Tech company, extending the existence of the technology within the league. As Microsoft moves forward with integrating more AI, the NFL is also a part of this development, with Surface tablets now featuring Copilot AI, and its sidelines powered by the latest technology.
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