Microsoft and the National Football League (NFL) announced on Wednesday a multiyear extension of their technology partnership, aimed at using artificial intelligence to enhance both on-field and operational aspects of professional football. The collaboration will leverage Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI to bring real-time data, advanced analytics, and operational support directly to teams on game days.
As part of the upgrade, the NFL’s sideline viewing system will receive a major overhaul. All 32 teams will be equipped with more than 2,500 custom-built Microsoft Surface Copilot tablets, designed to help coaches, players, and staff access, analyze, and act on game data more efficiently. Microsoft and the NFL said the new system will also assist operational staff in monitoring factors like weather delays, technical equipment issues, and other logistics challenges that arise during games. While the financial terms and duration of the extension have not been disclosed, the partnership underscores the league’s commitment to modernizing how football is played and managed.
“Enhancing the league is a responsibility we take seriously, and Microsoft has been a trusted sideline technology partner for over a decade,” NFL Chief Information Officer Gary Brantley said in a press release. “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.”
The extension builds upon a longstanding collaboration between Microsoft and the NFL. Since the 2014 season, all teams have used specially configured Microsoft Surface tablets to access league-provided data on the sidelines. Prior to this upgrade, more than 2,300 Surface devices were installed across the league. NFL Deputy CIO Aaron Amendolia confirmed to CNBC that the older devices were replaced before the preseason, and the new AI-enabled tablets are now actively being used in games.
Amendolia emphasized that AI will not make decisions for players or coaches. Instead, it serves as a powerful tool to filter and present critical information quickly. “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,” he said. On the sidelines, players often have only seconds between plays to assess formations or review visual data. AI helps organize and present that data in a way that allows them to make faster, better-informed decisions.
For coaching staff, Microsoft Copilot can automate tasks such as tracking snap counts, monitoring personnel on the field, and updating Excel sheets in real time, freeing coaches from manual calculations. During the 2025 NFL Combine, for example, teams leveraged Microsoft Azure AI to evaluate over 300 prospective players, significantly accelerating scouting and draft preparation. Moving forward, clubs will be able to extend the use of AI for player evaluations beyond the Combine, as well as across business operations such as finance, human resources, and events management.
In addition, the league is deploying AI within its OnePass fan guide app, which helps fans navigate stadium events and get quick answers to common questions. Amendolia noted that this “agentic AI” is being trained to improve customer service and enhance the fan experience.
Microsoft is also introducing AI video tools during team practices to aid in coaching, player evaluations, and injury assessments. The system automatically analyzes metadata from video footage, allowing staff to quickly locate specific players, camera angles, or plays for review. This technology is intended to streamline preparation and reduce manual video review workloads, giving coaches and analysts more time to focus on strategy and performance improvement.
The extended partnership between Microsoft and the NFL reflects the growing integration of AI and cloud technologies into professional sports, enhancing both operational efficiency and competitive strategy while providing fans with richer game-day insights.
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