Updates

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 & analytics at the NFL. “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:

• University track - This is open only to groups or individuals composed entirely of undergraduate or graduate students. Verification may be required to prove eligibility.
• Broadcast visualization track - This track generates an animation, video, or chart that best visualizes the movement of players with the ball in the air.

Participants are allowed to work independently or form teams with other colleagues. Following the submission deadline, all entries into the analytics tracks of the Big Data Bowl will be judged by data analysts from NFL teams.

Previous Big Data Bowl submissions have directly influenced the development of Next Gen Stats, including the introduction of Coverage Responsibility this season. This new stat uses advanced AI and machine learning to measure defensive coverage with unprecedented accuracy. 

Check out the 2025 Big Data Bowl Finalists.

"The Big Data Bowl and its participants continue to have a direct impact on the ongoing development of Next Gen Stats,” said Ari Entin, head of sports marketing at AWS. “What makes the new coverage responsibility stat particularly exciting is how it evolved, from innovative concepts in the competition to an official Next Gen Stat that fans will see on TV this season. This exemplifies how the Big Data Bowl unites the brightest minds in data science to influence advances in football analytics."

The Big Data Bowl has continued to be a significant pipeline for members of the football analytics community, as well as other professional sports leagues, since its debut in 2018. In total, over 75 participants have been hired in data and analytics roles in sports, with more than 60 joining the NFL family.

As part of the Big Data Bowl, the NFL incorporates a mentorship program aimed at increasing diversity in sports analytics by connecting experienced NFL analytics experts with interested novices. This program will include both individual meetings as well as monthly group training sessions and conclude with a virtual forum where mentees will have the opportunity to present to analysts from all 32 NFL teams.

Finalists will be announced in early 2026.