Big Data Bowl
The annual analytics contest explores statistical innovations in football — how the game is played and coached.
Welcome to the NFL’s Big Data Bowl
The annual sports analytics contest from NFL Football Operations challenges members of the analytics community – from college students to professionals – to contribute to the NFL’s continuing evolution of the use of advanced analytics. The crowd-sourced competition uses data and technology to spur innovation that results in creating new insights, making the game more exciting for fans and protecting players from unnecessary risk.
Powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), contestants use traditional football data and Next Gen Stats to analyze and rethink trends and player performance, while also advancing the way football is played and coached. The Big Data Bowl aims to engage and empower the football analytics community to drive innovation.
The seventh Annual Big Data Bowl
Using Next Gen Stats powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), this year's competition turns to a new set of data collected from what happens before the snap to produce insights and actionable predictions into what the offense or defense does after the snap.
Previous competitions have analyzed running backs, defensive backs, special teams, pass rush plays and tackling, and have generated metrics that have been used by NFL teams and incorporated into live games. During a game, both teams divulge patterns before the snap and participants are challenged to determine those patterns from player tracking data corresponding to pre-snap team and player tendencies.
As in the 2019-2024 Big Data Bowls, the 2025 Big Data Bowl is hosted by Kaggle, the world’s largest community of machine learning practitioners, learners, and researchers.
(AP/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Participants can select one of three tracks in which to submit:
- Undergraduate track – Open only to groups or individuals composed entirely of undergraduate students. Verification may be required to prove eligibility.
- Metric track – When using or creating a post-snap outcome, participants will leverage pre-snap data to assess team or player performance or strategy. Participants may focus on offensive or defensive players, teams, or individuals. In general, the narrower the focus, the better the submission.
- Coaching presentation track – This track aims to analyze and present data in a submission designed for coaches (e.g., a scouting report). Participants are encouraged to partner with a coach (or current/former player), though it isn’t required.
“Year after year, Big Data Bowl participants push the envelope of what is possible when Next Gen Stats data is combined with football expertise,” said Mike Lopez, senior director of football data & analytics at the NFL. “This year’s competition will take us further inside the minds of players and coaches on the field, to better understand what they’re thinking in the crucial moments leading up to the snap.”
The Big Data Bowl Structure
Each year, the NFL Big Data Bowl calls on professional and aspiring amateur data scientists to devise innovative approaches to a specific challenge. Participants propose statistical, data-driven solutions using real-time data across a wide variety of players, plays and situations.
The call for participants typically is in the fall and the competition runs into early January. Entrants compete in two groups — College, featuring undergraduate and graduate students and Open, featuring young professionals not in higher education. Participants can work independently or form teams with other colleagues.
NFL club analytics staff judge each submission and work with NFL Football Operations staff to narrow down the finalists. Finalists then present their entry at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis to a panel of judges. In recent years, judges have included NFL Network predictive analytics expert, Cynthia Frelund, former Big Data Bowl participants, AWS data scientists and NFL linebacker Najee Goode.
Contestants in each year’s Big Data Bowl compete for $100,000 in prize money and the chance to present to NFL teams at the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine. Even if participants do not finish as a finalist, the Big Data Bowl has served as a pipeline with NFL teams or their affiliate vendors.
Stay tuned to hear more about the next Big Data Bowl competition by following the NFL Football Operations Facebook and Twitter (X) accounts.
NFL Football Operations’ mission is to establish a culture of clarity, consistency and credibility in all aspects of the greatest game. Football is an essential piece of America’s fabric, uniting fans, players and communities with a simple yet powerful bond. We honor the game’s history while continuing to innovate and preserve the sport for future generations of fans, players, coaches, teams and officials.
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