By Tiffany Williams –
The NFL announced Thursday the return of its Big Data Bowl, the league’s premier crowd-sourced competition for sports analytics, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Now in its eighth year, the competition challenges participants to leverage Next Gen Stats (NGS) player tracking data to generate insights that could change the game. This year’s prize pool is $100,000, and finalists will present their submissions to NFL teams at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
For the first time, participants will predict player movement before the ball is thrown, offering a new way to understand where players will move while the football is in the air. Data from the 2023 and 2024 seasons will be used, with predictions evaluated against Weeks 14-18 of this season. Entries can also compete on a public leaderboard, comparing predicted versus actual player positions.
Participants can choose from two tracks:
- University Track – open to undergrad or grad students only.
- Broadcast Visualization Track – focused on creating animations, videos, or charts that visualize player movement with the ball in the air.
Competitors can work solo or in teams. Submissions will be judged by NFL team data analysts, and previous Big Data Bowl entries have influenced real-world NFL metrics, including the new Coverage Responsibility stat, which measures defensive coverage using advanced AI.
“The Big Data Bowl and its participants continue to directly shape Next Gen Stats,” said Ari Entin of AWS. “Innovative concepts from the competition have evolved into official stats fans will see on TV this season.”
Since its debut in 2018, the Big Data Bowl has become a pipeline for sports analytics careers, with over 75 participants hired in sports data roles, more than 60 joining the NFL. The event also features a mentorship program to increase diversity in sports analytics, pairing experienced NFL analytics experts with newcomers.
Participants can register on Kaggle, which has hosted the leaderboard component for the past seven years. Entries for both the leaderboard and analytics tracks are allowed. Finalists will be announced in early 2026.
More information is available at operations.nfl.com/the-game/big-databowl.