The 2023 Michigan Ross Sports Tech Conference held March 24th highlighted speakers from a variety of roles and backgrounds within the sports industry. The Keynote Fireside Chat featured Paul Ballew, NFL Chief Data and Analytics Officer, and was moderated by Alison Lu, a Senior Director of Business Strategy & Analytics at the San Francisco 49ers. During their conversation, Ballew and Lu discussed the evolving role of analytics in the NFL and how the league leverages data to create a seamless experience across platforms.
Ballew, who is an economist by trade and previously held roles at the Federal Reserve and Ford, joined the NFL in 2021 to head its data and analytics operation. He explained his division divides its data responsibilities into four fields: fans, player health and safety, in-stadium, and media. Among the fields, he said player health and safety is the most complicated to get right. While it’s of utmost importance to the League, data collection is complicated by regulatory issues and HIPAA privacy laws.
Among the sports technology trends Ballew discussed was the role of data and analytics departments acting as internal consultants within organizations. He said aligning with business departments was essential to ensure projects will be leveraged appropriately. Ballew’s team invests time in each of the league’s clubs, within which data abilities vary. “The NFL is an incredible, sophisticated league, but it is 32 entities,” he said, noting that each team’s data needs differ.
Embracing the mindset of knowing fans individually and as a whole has been essential to the department’s success: “If I had one fan and only one fan that I would wrap the entire league around, how would I know them, how would I treat them and how would I engage with them,” Ballew said.
He also noted that content is not just being consumed when games are played on Sunday or Monday night, but rather constantly and comprehensively across all channels. His team spent an entire year devising measurements to assess all of the content being consumed, an effort that has contributed to the NFL’s 365 degree understanding of fans.
When asked what advice he would offer to students hoping to pursue a career in sports technology, Ballew recommended pursuing disciplines with a quantitative component and developing a skill set centered around communication and soft skills. Above all, he said curiosity is key: “I’ve never met a good data and analytics professional that doesn’t ask questions,” Ballew said.