The NFL passed a resolution at its annual meetings that mandate the use of wearable devices to track players’ load management during all preseason practices. The collected data is then anonymized and aggregated for review by the NFL’s engineers.
The league also passed a separate resolution requiring all offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers to wear the Guardian Cap for all helmeted activities from the start of training camp through the second preseason game.
Most NFL franchises already provide tracking devices to their players for training camp and regular season practices— whether it is the same Zebra RFID tags used to power Next Gen Stats on game day and individual teams such as the Los Angeles Rams during every workout or whether it is other GPS wearables from Catapult or StatSports. Those sensors provide detailed physical performance data such as total distance, speed, number of accelerations and decelerations, and their use can now be required by all 32 NFL teams.
The raw data is then provided to the NFL’s engineers strictly for player health and safety initiatives. They already had access to some of that data and began using it to study injury rates and schedule changes, as part of its Digital Athlete program developed in conjunction with AWS.
The soft-shelled Guardian Cap NXT is a protective covering worn on top of a standard NFL helmet. It won the 2017 league-sponsored HeadHealthTech Challenge and touts a reduction of impact up to 33%. Following research conducted by NFL engineers in consultation with NFLPA consultants, the NFL began permitting linemen to wear the Guardian Cap in Aug. 2020.
German National Soccer Teams to Use Catapult Wearables, Video Tools
By Andrew Cohen
Catapult has signed a new three-year deal with the German Football Association, the country’s governing body for soccer. All 15 men’s and women’s German national teams (including youth levels) will use Catapult’s video analysis tools, while 10 national teams will also receive Catapult’s wearable devices.
Players will wear Catapult’s Vector device to track on-field movement and performance data. Teams will also use Catapult’s MatchTracker software that analyzes videos from in-stadium cameras to display data on an opposing team’s playing strategies, time of possession and movements of individual players.
Germany’s national teams will use Catapult to optimize player performance and help reduce injuries. Catapult acquired SBG Sports Software last year for $40 million to boost its video analysis capabilities. Clubs in Germany’s Bundesliga soccer league were already among the 3,400 teams across the world to use Catapult’s wearable and video products. Other clients include teams across the NFL, English Premier League, MLS, MLB, NBA and Major League Rugby.
The Apple TV+ Friday Night MLB Doubleheader Will Stream for Free and Begin With Max Scherzer and Shohei Ohtani Season Debuts
By Tom Friend
Apple TV+’s maiden entry into live sports will begin Friday, April 8, with a free and appetizing doubleheader.
The New York Mets and newly-acquired pitcher Max Scherzer will take on Scherzer’s former team, the Washington Nationals, in Game 1. That will be followed by a Houston Astros-Los Angeles Angels matchup that is expected to have defending American League MVP Shohei Ohtani both pitching and hitting.
Earlier this month, MLB and Apple struck a deal that allows Apple TV+ to carry exclusive Friday night doubleheaders throughout the season, meaning they will not simultaneously air on the participating teams’ local networks.
Along with releasing its game schedule through June 24th, Apple also announced Tuesday that all games will air for free on any device that can sync with Apple TV+—such as the Apple TV app on iPhones, iPads, Apple TV 4K and HD, smart TVs and more. Some of the more appealing matchups include the Rays at the White Sox on April 15; the Nationals at the Giants on April 29; the White Sox at the Red Sox on May 6; the Padres at the Braves on May 13; the Tigers at the Yankees on June 3; the Guardians at the Dodgers on June 17; and the Cubs at the Cardinals on June 24.
Besides its venture into baseball, Apple also remains a leading contender to obtain the rights to the highly valuable (and expensive) NFL Sunday Ticket.
Lionel Messi Joins Crypto Fan Token Company Socios in $20 Million Deal
By Andrew Cohen
Soccer star Lionel Messi has a new three-year deal to become a global ambassador for cryptocurrency-fueled fan token company Socios. Messi will be paid $20 million over the three-year deal, according to Reuters.
Messi will promote Socios to his 400 million social media followers. Socios has deals with more than 130 organizations, including many top European soccer clubs, UFC and NBA, NFL and NHL teams. Socios makes tokens for sports franchises that fans can buy to access rewards such as game-worn jerseys or vote in polls that influence team uniform designs and the songs played in stadiums.
Reuters also reported in Aug. 2021 that Messi’s deal with Paris Saint-Germain included an undisclosed amount of his signing fee being paid in the club’s crypto fan tokens issued by Socios. Last year, Socios’ parent company Chiliz raised $50 million to expand its tokens into U.S. sports. Socios has also faced some pushback from regulators, such as when the UK Advertising Standards Authority asked Arsenal FC to “ensure that they did not mislead consumers by omitting material information in their ads, including that Fan Tokens were a cryptoasset that had to be bought using another cryptocurrency.”
Major League Soccer Joins Forces With Sorare, Which Will Produce NFTs for the Entire League
By Joe Lemire
Major League Soccer is partnering with Sorare, the NFT-backed fantasy sports game. Sorare will create NFTs for every MLS player.
Sorare raised a $680 million Series B round in September, boosting the company valuation to $4.3 billion, at which time the Parisian startup opened its first U.S office. The MLS deal is its first with a U.S. sports league since that time. Sorare is now the league’s first official NFT fantasy game.
Nearly 200 soccer organizations struck licensing deals with Sorare, including some of Europe’s biggest clubs—such as Real Madrid, Liverpool and Juventus—along with the MLS Players Association. Sorare and the MLSPA first teamed up in July 2020 and renewed the relationship in May 2021.
The UK Gambling Commission announced an inquiry into Sorare back in October, seeking to determine whether the blockchain-based fantasy game was a form of gambling. Sorare dismissed the claim, saying “it is normal and expected to receive regulatory questions” and that “we are very confident Sorare does not offer any forms of regulated gambling.”
Fantasy Soccer Site Eksab Raises $3 Million to Expand Across Middle East and Africa
By Andrew Cohen
Egyptian fantasy soccer startup Eksab has raised $3 million in seed funding to expand its daily fantasy platform to users across Africa and the Middle East. The funding was led by Pan-African venture capital firm 4DX Ventures, whose senior advisors include NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo.
Eksab was founded in Cairo in 2018 and is the only licensed fantasy soccer platform in Egypt. The company currently has more than 700,000 registered users in Egypt and has plans to acquire licenses to launch in three additional countries by mid-2022, hoping to serve as a gaming platform for the more than 500,000 million soccer fans across Africa and the MENA region.
Fans can make predictions and build fantasy soccer lineups on Eksab for the chance to win cash and other prizes. The company offers free and paid contests for soccer competitions in the Middle East and Africa, as well as European leagues such as the English Premier League and La Liga. Other investors in Eksab’s seed round included Darwazah Capital, Golden Palm Investments and P1 Ventures.
In Dec. 2021, 4DX Ventures closed a $60 million fund and named the Congolese-American Mutombo as a senior advisor. Mutombo is also an investor in NBA Africa and in a blockchain project that aims to trace the mineral mining supply chain in his native Democratic Republic of Congo to protect against corruption.
Blood Data Specialist InsideTracker Adds Apple Watch Compatibility
By Joe Lemire
InsideTracker, which provides insights on blood biometrics, has partnered with Apple Watch to provide holistic recommendations on nutrition, fitness and lifestyle.
Users can use a home kit, visit a Quest lab or upload results from a physician’s office to provide blood composition data for InsideTracker’s algorithms to analyze. The additional data from a fitness tracker—Apple Watch joins FitBit and Garmin as supported devices—provides additional information of resting heart rate, exercise workload and sleep to enable more powerful recommendations from InsideTracker’s Action Plan.
InsideTracker is particularly popular among endurance athletes, including American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato. Tianna Bartoletta, who is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in long jump and the 4×100-meter relay, is also a brand ambassador.
Liga MX Begins Using Fan ID System After Stadium Violence and Heckling, Will Require Facial Recognition Next Season
By Andrew Cohen
Fans who attended Thursday’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifier between the USMNT and Mexico were required to show a QR code and form of identification for entry into Estadio Azteca. The process is part of a new registration system called Fan ID that’s being implemented at Mexican soccer stadiums in response to recent incidents of violence and anti-gay chants from fans.
Estadio Azteca has a capacity of 87,523 fans, but Thursday’s game was limited to 50,000 as part of crowd control efforts from the Mexican Football Federation. FIFA previously required Mexico to play home qualifier matches without fans as punishment for homophobic chants. Fans found to make inappropriate chants will be given a five-year ban from Mexican soccer stadiums, according to ESPN.
Facial recognition to identify fans will also be required at all stadiums for the 2022-23 Liga MX season, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We have to implement digital security measures to identify those who attend,” Liga MX president Mikel Arriola said March 7, two days after the Querétaro vs. Atlas match that saw a brawl in the stands result in 26 fans being hospitalized.
Stadium Security Company Liberty Defense Raises $8 Million, Will Test System in Baltimore Stadiums
By Andrew Cohen
Liberty Defense has raised $8.62 million in private placement funding led by Canaccord Genuity Corp to help bring its weapons detection system to more stadiums. Liberty’s Hexwave security system will be tested this year at the home venues of MLB’s Baltimore Orioles and the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
The Maryland Stadium Authority partnered with Liberty Defense to install Hexwave at both stadiums. Hexwave uses radar imaging and artificial intelligence to screen fans for concealed weapons at they walk through stadium entry gates. The system can identify metal and non-metal weapons such as 3D-printed guns.
Other teams to previously test Hexwave at their home venues include the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and German soccer club Bayern Munich. Liberty Defense owns exclusive distribution rights for Hexwave, which was developed by researchers from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
Whoop Study Details Exercise Benefits for Pregnant Women
By Joe Lemire
A new academic study about the activity level of women who wore Whoop before, during and after their pregnancies indicated physiological benefits for those who continued exercising. The data also suggested that resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate variability (HRV) from the wearable could help detect pregnancy earlier.
Also, in a new finding, an uptick in RHR and HRV was observed seven weeks before birth, which researchers think could be a bellwether of remaining pregnancy duration.
Academics at West Virginia University School of Medicine conducted the study, which has been submitted for peer review. More than three dozen active women between the ages of 18 and 35 enrolled in the study, of whom 18 became pregnant and gave birth. Whoop has stated its intentions to use its technology and data to improve research on female physiology and has added a menstrual cycle coaching app for athletes. Whoop’s VP of performance science Kristin Holmes will speak at SportTechie’s State Of The Industry conference in New York on April 12.
HRV and RHR both declined soon after conception and before a woman’s first missed period. The activity level of the women halved during pregnancy, from 28 minutes daily to 14 minutes, but those who were more active had consistently improved HRV and RHR, according to a summary of the research published on Whoop’s website. Both of those metrics then improved about 50 days prior to birth.
“Qualitative evidence suggests strong cultural expectations that women should ‘sit down and slow down’ during pregnancy,” Dr. Shon Rowan, an assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at WVU who led the study, said in a statement. “The guidelines for pregnant women around exercise have changed, but not in a wide-scale or well-known way. Contrary to past recommendations, this study found that any type of activity during pregnancy is beneficial. This isn’t necessarily driven by intensity, but duration.”
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