The NFL has tapped NetApp as its Official Intelligent Data Infrastructure sponsor, with the San Jose-based tech firm also becoming the presenting sponsor of the 2025 NFL London Games and the first regular season game in Madrid this fall.
This is hardly a new relationship, however, as the NFL has been a standing customer of NetApp, and the two had a previous partnership that began in 2013.
NetApp’s primary value proposition is silo-free data storage, and it is compatible with all the major cloud providers such as NFL partner AWS. Efficiency and transformation have been major focuses since Gary Brantley took over as NFL CIO, and it’s particularly critical as the NFL’s AI committee considers its plans for the technology.
“How can we include infrastructure in our environment that allows us to leverage AI?” Brantley said. “That was a huge point for us. Out of all of our data storage partners that we have today, where can we as a organization leverage the one that’s best for us?”
Revolution, NetApp’s sports agency of record, assisted on the deal. NetApp are also partners of the NFL’s 49ers and the NHL’s Sharks, as well as a strong profile in motorsports with Aston Martin, Ducati and Porsche.
“AI eats data,” NetApp CMO Gabie Boko said. “That’s how it survives it. That’s how it’s successful. And the underpin to really being successful -- with digital transformation, with data management, with your AI workloads -- is to have a great data infrastructure strategy.”
The international focus of the partnership is to ensure a consistent fan experience, even when the NFL is using a new stadium that does not have the same technological infrastructure the league or its teams are accustomed to. NetApp also offers several cybersecurity protections.
“A lot of challenges come with that, and the expectation from our clubs and teams don’t change,” Brantley said. “Is it giving us the intelligent data that we need to make the proper decisions so that we create that same experience in the US that we do internationally? Those are the things that people don’t see. They don’t see it, but they feel it. And what happens is, when it’s not in place, you absolutely feel it. People feel wait times, especially as we start to have more technology in, so people feel mobile app functionality.”
