University of Kwazulu-Natal

Nfl And Aws Annual Big Data Bowl Competition Will Predict Player Movem

Bonisiwe Shabane
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nfl and aws annual big data bowl competition will predict player movem

The moment before an NFL quarterback releases the ball contains infinite possibilities. The receiver could break inside or fade outside, the safety might jump the route or hang back, the cornerback could close the gap or get beaten deep. For decades, these split-second decisions existed only as game film debates and coaching hypotheticals. Now, the NFL and Amazon Web Services (AWS) want to predict them. In its eighth year, the is challenging participants to do something unprecedented: forecast exactly where players will move in the crucial seconds after the ball leaves the quarterback’s hand. As this year’s competition marks a decade of collaboration between AWS and the NFL Next Gen Stats team, it represents a milestone in how data analytics has transformed professional football.

Since 2015, when AWS first started working with the NFL to power Next Gen Stats, the technology has evolved from basic player tracking to sophisticated predictive modeling. It influences everything from in-game strategy to broadcast coverage. What started in 2018 as an experimental competition has evolved into one of sports analytics’ most prestigious and influential events. “In year one, we just wanted enough good submissions to justify doing it again the next year,” admits Mike Lopez, senior director of football data and analytics for the NFL. “Now it’s become part of how we discover new metrics that end up in games, on broadcasts, and in front offices.” The competition’s impact is visible every season.

When you hear broadcasters discuss Tackle Probability or see real-time Pressure Probability graphics flash across your screen, you’re witnessing the direct results of past Big Data Bowl innovations. These metrics have transformed from academic exercises into essential tools for understanding the game. This Year’s Competition to Use Next Gen Stats to Predict Player Movement When the Ball is in the Air New Leaderboard and Analytics Topics Available for Applicants NEW YORK – Sept 25, 2025 – The National Football League announced today the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's premier crowd-sourcing competition for the sports analytics community. Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the eighth annual competition will challenge applicants to leverage NFL player tracking, also known as Next Gen Stats (NGS), to generate insights to enhance the game.

Applicants can sign up beginning today to compete for a shared prize of $100,000 and the chance to present their submission to NFL teams at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. This year's competition highlights a new pathway for leveraging NGS. For the first time, the participants will predict player movement by using data before the football is thrown to produce insights on where players will move while the football is in the air. Data will be available from the 2023 and 2024 NFL seasons, with predictions evaluated against this year’s outcomes (Weeks 14-18). Also, for the first time, applicants can enter a public leaderboard, which evaluates the accuracy of submissions by comparing predicted to actual player locations, as determined using NGS. “Now in our eighth year, we are elevating the Big Data Bowl with a first-of-its-kind prediction competition, offering participants a unique journey through an NFL play,” said Mike Lopez, senior director of football data...

“With these additions, we hope to gain the attention of amateur and expert analysts alike, bringing out the best in sports analytics to drive innovation in our game.” The NFL has opened applications for its eighth-annual Big Data Bowl, powered by Amazon Web Services. Participants for this latest installment will use Next Gen Stats, the NFL’s player tracking data, to create predictive movement insights using data from the 2023 and 2024 NFL seasons. Those findings will then be fact-checked against live data produced during the window of Week 14-18 this season. Prior Big Data Bowl contests have centered on topics such as: Finalists will be announced in early 2026, with the winning person/group earning a shared $100,000 and the opportunity to present their findings at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.

The NFL announced Thursday the return of its Big Data Bowl, the league’s premier crowd-sourced competition for sports analytics, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Now in its eighth year, the competition challenges participants to leverage Next Gen Stats (NGS) player tracking data to generate insights that could change the game. This year’s prize pool is $100,000, and finalists will present their submissions to NFL teams at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. For the first time, participants will predict player movement before the ball is thrown, offering a new way to understand where players will move while the football is in the air. Data from the 2023 and 2024 seasons will be used, with predictions evaluated against Weeks 14-18 of this season. Entries can also compete on a public leaderboard, comparing predicted versus actual player positions.

Participants can choose from two tracks: Competitors can work solo or in teams. Submissions will be judged by NFL team data analysts, and previous Big Data Bowl entries have influenced real-world NFL metrics, including the new Coverage Responsibility stat, which measures defensive coverage using advanced AI. “The Big Data Bowl and its participants continue to directly shape Next Gen Stats,” said Ari Entin of AWS. “Innovative concepts from the competition have evolved into official stats fans will see on TV this season.” Paul Tagliabue chose labor peace over conflict and that was key to launching a business boom for the NFL.

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They did an incredible job.” Nantz noted the improvement from three weeks ago when he and Nantz called the Cowboys-Broncos game and acknowledged team ownership -- including primary owners Greg and Carrie Penner and... The EA Sports Madden NFL Cast is back for its second season on Thanksgiving, when the Ravens host the Bengals. The Peacock-only 8 pm ET broadcast features former NFLers Tyrann Mathieu and Kurt Benkert with play-by-play announcer Paul Burmeister in the studio for the tech-enthused broadcast, with Chad Johnson as the “ratings adjuster” and... Also new is the presentation: A hi-sky camera behind the quarterback, resulting in a presentation similar to the video game. By SVG Staff Friday, September 26, 2025 - 9:51 am Print This Story | Subscribe The National Football League announces the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league’s premier crowd-sourcing competition for the sports analytics community.

Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the eighth annual competition will challenge applicants to leverage NFL player tracking, also known as Next Gen Stats (NGS), to generate insights to enhance the game. Applicants can sign up beginning today to compete for a shared prize of $100,000 and the chance to present their submission to NFL teams at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. This year’s competition highlights a new pathway for leveraging NGS. For the first time, the participants will predict player movement by using data before the football is thrown to produce insights on where players will move while the football is in the air. Data will be available from the 2023 and 2024 NFL seasons, with predictions evaluated against this year’s outcomes (Weeks 14-18). Also, for the first time, applicants can enter a public leaderboard, which evaluates the accuracy of submissions by comparing predicted to actual player locations, as determined using NGS.

“Now in our eighth year, we are elevating the Big Data Bowl with a first-of-its-kind prediction competition, offering participants a unique journey through an NFL play,” says Mike Lopez, senior director of football data... “With these additions, we hope to gain the attention of amateur and expert analysts alike, bringing out the best in sports analytics to drive innovation in our game.” In addition to being evaluated on the public leaderboard, applicants can select one of two analytics tracks: Compete in the NFL Big Data Bowl, powered by AWS, and use real game data to build new AI-powered stats that shape the future of football. Choose between two new competition tracks for 2025. The NFL Big Data Bowl is an annual sports analytics contest from NFL Football Operations that invites everyone from college students to data pros to evolve how the NFL uses advanced analytics.

In its 8th year, this year's competition focuses on predicting player movement and is open through December 2025. Follow these three steps for the best submission. Enter the 2026 NFL Big Data Bowl competition, and get ready to start building.Choose from two tracks:Leaderboard Track: Build the most accurate movement-prediction model, tested on plays from future games. Sign up for Leaderboard TrackData Visualization Track: Tell the story through compelling visuals, tools, or interactive experiences. Your guide to the NFL Big Data Bowl competition: expert submission tips, track options, and AWS tools to get started. The NFL announced the launch of the 2026 Big Data Bowl, the league's premier crowd-sourcing competition for the sports analytics community.

Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the eighth annual competition will challenge applicants to leverage NFL player tracking, also known as Next Gen Stats (NGS), to generate insights to enhance the game. Applicants can sign up beginning Sept. 25, 2025, to compete for a shared prize of $100,000 and the chance to present their submission to NFL teams at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. This year's competition highlights a new pathway for leveraging NGS. For the first time, the participants will predict player movement by using data before the football is thrown to produce insights on where players will move while the football is in the air. Data will be available from the 2023 and 2024 NFL seasons, with predictions evaluated against this year’s outcomes (Weeks 14-18).

Also, for the first time, applicants can enter a public leaderboard, which evaluates the accuracy of submissions by comparing predicted to actual player locations, as determined using NGS. Applicants can register on Kaggle, which has hosted the Big Data Bowl for the past seven years, via the leaderboard prediction competition or the analytics competition. Applicants are allowed to register for both if they are interested. “Now in our eighth year, we are elevating the Big Data Bowl with a first-of-its-kind prediction competition, offering participants a unique journey through an NFL play,” said Mike Lopez, senior director of football data... “With these additions, we hope to gain the attention of amateur and expert analysts alike, bringing out the best in sports analytics to drive innovation in our game.” In addition to being evaluated on the public leaderboard, applicants can select one of two analytics tracks:

At SūmerSports, we’ve taken steps to open source our football analytics work to grow the space from both a talent and knowledge perspective. For the 2025 Big Data Bowl, Sūmer released a reduced version of their transformer model fitted for the competition task which ultimately powered my winning submission. That release also led to multiple success stories across the community and exciting growth for the Sūmer team. See their blog post detailing last year’s success. This year, Sūmer and I are continuing that path. The NFL Big Data Bowl 2026 presents a unique challenge: analyzing and predicting trajectories when the ball is in the air using player tracking data and supplementary coverage data.

With 22 players on the field generating positional data at 10Hz historically, the complexity of modeling spatial-temporal interactions is slightly reduced, not to mention the much larger dataset contestants are privy too. This year, contestants have roughly half the players and fewer frames to work with. SūmerSports’ supplementary dataset represents years of research, engineering, and validation, adding crucial context to raw tracking data. We worked hard to develop highly generalizable models so that we can provide inference-time solutions directly to you. The data is available at Sūmer Supplement.

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