Microsoft and the NFL have announced an expansion of their partnership aimed at helping the league improve its efficiency, collaboration and communication.
Since 2013, Microsoft has supplied the NFL with Surface tablets for coaches, officials and players. With the new expansion, the NFL will roll out the Microsoft Teams platform to further its digital transformation goals. With its cross-platform support, Teams will serve as the central way for NFL organizations to collaborate, chat, share files, schedule meetings and more.
“Since 2013, Microsoft has helped transform the NFL through technology around our game,” said Renie Anderson, chief revenue officer and executive vice president of NFL Partnerships. “Microsoft Surface has quickly become an authentic tool to the game of football and is vital during all NFL games for coaches, players and NFL Officials. And now by working together to integrate Microsoft Teams across the League, together we aim to improve on communications and collaboration in a modern way.”
“We’re inspired to continue to help the NFL accelerate its digital transformation,” said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president, Modern Life, Search and Devices, Microsoft. “We’ve worked together to innovate the way the game is played with Surface devices to power Instant Replay and in-game play review for players and coaches on the sidelines. And by combining Surface and Microsoft Teams deeper into the fast-paced workflow of the League, we have an incredible opportunity to bring together the power of hardware and software to help everyone be more productive.”
With other sports using Apple’s iPad, the expansion of the NFL deal is a big win for Microsoft.