The NFL is preparing for a season where artificial intelligence could play a role far beyond film study. For the first time, head coaches and coordinators may lean on AI-powered assistants to help decide which plays to call in real time. 
The league has expanded its long-standing partnership with Microsoft, originally signed in 2014 to provide Surface Pro tablets on the sidelines. This year, 2,500 new Surface Pro devices are being delivered to teams – each one preloaded with Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant.
Copilot isn’t just a fancy search tool. It’s powered by Microsoft’s Prometheus model, which blends OpenAI’s GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o with Bing’s live search results. That means coaches can ask questions during the game – such as how an opponent typically reacts on third down – and receive rapid, data-driven insights. The AI can even suggest which plays from a team’s playbook might succeed against defensive patterns unfolding in real time.
This development could reshape competitive balance in the league. Every team will have identical access to the hardware, software, and raw data, but success may depend on which coaching staff adapts fastest and asks the right questions. In other words, the next Super Bowl champion might be crowned not only for athletic dominance but also for their mastery of AI strategy.
Of course, there are risks. AI is known to “hallucinate,” providing confident but incorrect answers when data is thin. Imagine a coach explaining a championship loss by blaming an AI miscalculation. Skeptics also argue that AI might be more reliable for pre-game preparation rather than in the heat of live action. Still, if this experiment works, the NFL could be the proving ground that pushes AI deeper into other sports.
Whether it leads to smarter plays, closer games, or simply another layer of controversy, one thing is certain: football strategy is about to collide with the age of artificial intelligence.
1 comment
this will make games boring af, just numbers vs numbers