The NFL - contrary to popular belief - is not all about the football.
It is, in fact, all about the money - branding, merchandising - creating partnerships that are as mutually beneficial from a day-to-day functionality standpoint as they are lucrative.
One such partnership the NFL has recently cultivated is with Microsoft.
The league and the tech giant agreed to a long-term sponsorship deal last year, with the NFL tasking Microsoft with developing a Surface tablet computer specifically for players and coaches to use during games this season.
Technology experts and the league's competition committee came together for months of discussion aimed at developing a tablet rugged enough to survive an NFL sideline - weather, extreme temperature, drops - easy enough to use in a hurry and big enough for several people to view at once.
The tablets - whose main function is to download high-definition photographs of plays moments after they occur - also had to resist glare, hold enough battery life to last a full game and possess the ability to work on a secure wireless network without delays - and Microsoft needed to develop a cart that could hold up to 16 tablets with a power supply and a heater and cooler inside to maintain optimal tablet performance.
"We needed to make sure this can withstand the rigors of the NFL," John Haley, the manager of one of Microsoft's development labs, said as he held a small replica of the cart, made with a 3-D printer. "We tried to find a balance between weight, durability and utility."
This partnership highlights not only the NFL's consistently forward thinking technological attitude, but also offers a window into the league - and all sports' - relationships with their business partners.
"There are definitely more companies trying to be more a part of the action and essentially using the sport as a demo ad for their product," said Bob Dorfman, who writes the Sports Marketers' Scouting Report. "There is a strong connection between the product, sports and performance aspect of it."
No longer do companies merely wish to have their name appear on a billboard or spray-painted in an end zone. Now, they want their products literally embedded in the functions of the game.
"By far, the NFL is the crown jewel of entertainment," Yusuf Mehdi, who oversees marketing and strategy for Microsoft's devices and studios, which includes the Xbox and the Surface, said. "It has that fan passion, and we have that with the Xbox. And on the sideline, it really showcases what Microsoft can do when it brings its full muscle to bear."
The concept of "the sideline of the future" arose a couple of years ago as the league's deal with Motorola came to a close, according to Brian Rolapp, the executive vice president for media and the NFL.
The NFL spoke to a variety of tech companies before settling on Microsoft.
"I'm not sure where sponsorship deals end and media deals begin," Rolapp said. "People spend a lot of time on a 30-second commercial trying to convey the attributes of their product. This actually shows it."
Players and coaches alike seem pleased with the functionality of the tablets thus far. Brian Schneider, Seattle Seahawks' special teams coach, said the clarity and speed of delivery of the tablet's photos has helped him convey his message to players much more quickly and easily.
"It's so much clearer; you can get so much more information," Schneider said at the Seahawks' training complex. "I used to wait for the photos to arrive, and I'd get antsy. Now, I get the photos by the time the players come off the field."
Giants quarterback Eli Manning said he liked being able to look at up to four images on one screen instead of thumbing through four pages, and he can enlarge the images as needed.
"I look to see if there's a way the defense tipped its hand before the play was called," Manning said. "The technology is a help. The more information, the better off we are."
There have been hiccups along the way, but Microsoft has been quick to offer adjustments. As the tablets see continued success, the door swings open wider for further technological advances to be made.
"Video could be powerful, next generation data from chips on jerseys," Mehdi said. "There are a lot of ways we're just scratching the surface."
Scratching the surface - pun intended?
