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The Seattle Seahawks will now be utilizing Amazon Web Services in bringing artificial intelligence ... [+] and machine learning to their game preparation in hopes to make more efficient on the field decisions. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Amazon has deep roots in Seattle which are about to get deeper. The company announced it will be expanding its services within the NFL, after partnering with the Seattle Seahawks to provide the team with its cloud and machine learning/artificial intelligence offerings. In the comprehensive partnership, the company will move the vast majority of its infrastructure to AWS and will also provide wide-ranging services, including computing, storage and database, as well as analytics intended to drive game strategy decisions for the team.

Amazons NFL Next Gen Stats offering has been providing player tracking data throughout this season and the Seahawks will utilize their data, that tracks the position of the ball on the field as well as every player 10 times per second, to provide detailed information on each players impact on the field. With this new partnership, the Seahawks will be able to use its own player data internally to develop a custom analytics and proprietary statistics platform combining the Next Gen Stats offering.

In addition to making possible a deeper understanding of team performance through analytics, the team will also use Amazons ML Solutions Lab, the companys program around machine learning and predictive analytics. The Seahawks will implement new capabilities through the software that will provide deeper analytics and insights through video footage. Using the AWS ML services, the team will be able to combine footage from training camp through the postseason, including NFL Coaches Film that gives a birds-eye view of all 22 players on the field, with Amazons Rekognition service, to better identify and understand opponents defensive and offensive strategies.

As our official cloud provider, AWS will enable the Seahawks to become a data-driven organization that uses the power of technology to fuel future championships. We chose AWS because of their relentless focus on innovation, their broad array of machine learning services, and proven to experience in supporting large sports organizations and enterprises around the world at scale, said Chip Suttles, Vice President, Technology, Seattle Seahawks. AWSs breadth and depth of services will help us to extract and pinpoint every possible advantage from the vast amount of data we collect, delivering the actionable insights we need to positively impact our decision-making.

Another service the Seahawks will utilize is Amazons SageMaker platform that will help develop a fully managed service around the building, training and deploying of machine learning models. These models can analyze football statistical information such as quarterback hurries, knockdowns or sacks and are also able to judge how a quarterback handles pressure in the pocket or throws downfield when they are under heavy duress by a defense. These new capabilities will not only be able to provide insights to Seahawks coaches but will also be able to make data-driven recommendations to the team, once the system gets smarter through information being fed into its software.

The Seahawks previously used Microsofts services and its data environments were stored on Microsfts Azure cloud. Even with the Amazon tie-in, the team will continue to utilize Microsofts products and services through the teams partnership, as well as through Microsofts integration with the NFL.

Amazons relationship with the NFL has slowly but steadily expanded over time, with its streaming of Thursday Night Football for the past three seasons over Amazon Prime Video and the addition of games on Amazons Twitch platform. Amazon has aimed to enhance the fan experience through its Next Gen Stats offering and has used Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in its advertisements for the product. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was also reportedly endorsed by NFL owners to become an owner within the league in the near future.

Partnerships like this will become much more common going forward as data has proven to be the next frontier into the analysis of sports, not only from a game play perspective but also from a business perspective. Understanding how to get an edge on the field or utilizing a potential revenue stream makes these types of offerings very enticing and something each team will likely be engaging in the very near future.

Excerpt from:

Seattle Seahawks Select Amazon In Utilizing Artificial Intelligence To Help Make Smarter Decisions On The Field - Forbes