Are You Ready for Some Big Data?

When the National Football League began seriously studying concussions six years ago, its focus initially was head trauma. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags were placed in helmets, shoulder pads and even mouthpieces to gather metrics about each player’s speed, distance, orientation and the direction his head moved. (The tags are placed on every player for all games and practices.)

This data is now being used to study more than just concussions. Last year the league created the Digital Athlete, an initiative that uses computer simulation to reconstruct scenarios in which injuries of all types occur. “It allows us to understand: Why did this player get injured? And then identify things we could do to change that outcome,” says Sam Huddleston, principal data scientist at Biocore LLC, the NFL’s engineering partner.

These moves come amid intense scrutiny about how the NFL can make an inherently violent sport more safe. On Jan. 2 the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field after being hit in the chest. In another nationally televised game earlier in the season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s hands showed signs of a neurological injury after he hit his head on the turf.