From recruiting to refereeing, AI and other tech is changing the game

This Sunday may be the annual pinnacle of American football, but it’s worth remembering that the games we watch on TV are just the tip of the iceberg. Inside every snap, pass and touchdown is a quieter revolution, with teams, leagues and analysts increasingly leaning on technology to gain an edge.

From AI-powered recruiting and player evaluation to data-driven officiating and immersive fan experiences, innovation is reshaping the way football and other sports are played, coached and consumed. What used to be the realm of spreadsheets and scouts is now a laboratory for experimentation, and the impact is being felt at every level of sports.

Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the most discussed (and debated) forces in sports. In college football, programs are cautiously experimenting with AI, using it to support decision-making rather than replace human judgment. Today, its applications are practical and incremental: Recruiting assistants are using large language models like ChatGPT to proofread messages to prospects or distill scouting reports into digestible bullet points for coaches, while front offices increasingly resemble corporate strategy teams, bringing in data scientists to embed AI into daily workflows.

At the University of Florida, the director of football strategy focuses on embedding AI into daily operations, using it to streamline data analysis, for example, as opposed to automating recruiting or calling plays. Throughout athletic programs, AI is quietly becoming an internal copilot, speeding up tasks that once took hours and freeing staff to focus on higher-level strategy.

Some programs are pushing further. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are experimenting with AI agents that can scan public data, social media and news sources to help prioritize transfer portal decisions. With thousands of potential transfer athletes to evaluate, these agents help surface context that’s difficult to track manually (like why a player may have missed significant game time — was it due to injury, performance or off-field issues?). The goal is to deliver actionable insights to coaches in near real time, potentially straight to their phones.

Beyond roster management, athletic departments are also exploring AI for business operations. Desireé Reed-Francois, the athletic director at the University of Arizona, describes it as a tool for uncovering “hidden incremental dollars” across existing revenue streams, even as schools remain cautious about deploying AI directly on the field.

At the professional level, technology is also redefining how games are experienced. Sony’s Hawk-Eye Virtual Measurement Technology, first launched in 2001 and used for officiating in tennis since 2006, is now used in a wide range of sports. It uses a fleet of cameras to optically track the position of the ball, producing precise measurements in a matter of seconds — in football, about 30 seconds, saving up to 40 seconds from manually measuring with chains. Officials receive the result directly, while broadcasters and in-stadium audiences can see real-time virtual re-creations of the measurement.

Major League Baseball is rolling out its Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System for the 2026 season, bringing AI-driven pitch tracking to the majors after years of testing in the minor leagues. Rather than fully automating officiating, the system gives players a limited number of challenges per game, using Hawk-Eye tracking to review disputed calls in real time.

The shift reflects a broader trend: using data-driven tools to enhance accuracy and consistency without removing human officials from the process. The sideline personnel remain on the field in a secondary role, reinforcing that technology is augmenting, not replacing, the art of officiating.

Perhaps the most dramatic leap in sports technology is happening at the data level. Skeletal tracking, which maps players’ joints, limbs and body postures in three dimensions, is opening a new chapter in football analytics — and, yes, this time I’m talking about the kind of football where you actually use your feet, i.e., soccer.

Unlike traditional data tracking, which logs player positions dozens of times per second, skeletal tracking captures hundreds of millions of data points per match by monitoring up to 29 body points at frame rates as high as 100 frames per second. FIFA and UEFA now use this technology for semi-automated offside decisions, combining body pose data with precise ball tracking to make calls more objective.

The technology, first deployed at the 2022 World Cup, is now used in the Champions League, Serie A, La Liga and, as of 2025, the Premier League.

Beyond officiating, skeletal data is reshaping analysis and fan engagement. Companies like Genius Sports are using multi-angle camera systems to generate real-time 3D re-creations of matches, enabling immersive replays from any player’s perspective. Broadcasters and tech partners are experimenting with virtual reality experiences that let fans watch plays unfold from the striker’s or goalkeeper’s point of view.

Despite rapid progress, few in the industry believe AI is ready to call plays or replace coaches. Still, the direction is unmistakable. As data becomes richer and interfaces more intuitive, the gap between insight and action continues to shrink. What once required teams of analysts and hours of film review can now happen in seconds. The next era of sports won’t be defined by a single breakthrough, but by the steady integration of technology into every layer of the game.