NFL’s Plan to Reduce Injuries Involves More Machine Learning

When the National Football League began seriously studying concussions six years ago, its focus initially was head trauma. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags were placed in helmets, shoulder pads and even mouthpieces to gather metrics about each player’s speed, distance, orientation and the direction his head moved. (The tags are placed on every player for all games and practices.)

This data is now being used to study more than just concussions. Last year the league created the Digital Athlete, an initiative that uses computer simulation to reconstruct scenarios in which injuries of all types occur. “It allows us to understand: Why did this player get injured? And then identify things we could do to change that outcome,” says Sam Huddleston, principal data scientist at Biocore LLC, the NFL’s engineering partner.