The NFL Big Data Bowl 2025 is here, presenting an exciting opportunity for data analysts and sports enthusiasts to win cash prizes while shaping the future of NFL strategy. With a total prize pool for the top ten submissions, including $12,500 for each of the top five spots and an additional bonus at the NFL Scouting Combine, this competition is your chance to turn innovative data insights into cash rewards.
This year, the NFL challenges participants to unlock insights from pre-snap behaviors—the subtle player movements and strategic setups that can reveal key indicators for the play ahead. The goal is to analyze this critical pre-snap phase to predict tendencies, spot patterns, and offer fresh, actionable insights that teams can use to gain an edge.
Overview: Transforming Pre-Snap Behavior into Predictive Data
In previous years, the Big Data Bowl has focused on various aspects of play, from pass rush strategies to defensive formations, offering a powerful platform to create metrics that NFL teams and fans alike value. For 2025, the competition spotlights the 40 seconds before the snap, challenging participants to capture the nuanced pre-snap actions that can impact the play’s outcome. Entrants will work with the NFL’s Next Gen Stats player tracking data to unearth how formations, shifts, and other pre-snap factors influence what happens on the field.
Whether you’re interested in predicting pass vs. run plays, identifying blitz patterns, or outlining individual player behaviors, the data could lead to valuable insights with real-world applications in football.
Submission Tracks: Choose Your Area of Expertise
With three unique submission tracks, the NFL Big Data Bowl 2025 allows participants to tailor their entries to their skills and interests:
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Undergraduate Track: Exclusively for undergraduate students, this track encourages students to bring forward new ideas and methodologies.
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Metric Track: This track challenges participants to generate specific performance metrics, focusing on team or player behaviors and how they predict post-snap outcomes.
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Coaching Presentation Track: Perfect for those who excel at visual storytelling, this track encourages participants to design data-driven presentations for coaches, helping to transform insights into strategy. While optional, partnering with a coach or former player is encouraged to make reports more impactful.
Each track has distinct requirements, from concise Notebooks for data science metrics to a visual presentation for coaches. The Coaching Presentation Track, for instance, requires participants to submit a public, 20-slide PDF on Kaggle, making it easy for NFL staff and coaches to review and use these insights.
Evaluation and Cash Prizes
Submissions will be scored on four main components:
- Football Score (30%): Usability and relevance for NFL teams.
- Data Science Score (30%): Accuracy and innovation of statistical models.
- Report Score (20%): Clarity and organization of the written report.
- Data Visualization Score (20%): Quality and effectiveness of visual aids.
Judges from NFL teams and data vendors will evaluate submissions, with the top five entries receiving $12,500 each. Additionally, the winning team from each track will present at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, where an extra $12,500 bonus is up for grabs. Entries ranked six through ten will receive $5,000 each.
How to Compete for Cash Prizes
Participants must verify their identity and submit public Notebooks or datasets on Kaggle by January 6, 2025. Teams must list all collaborators, and submissions should follow the guidelines specific to the chosen track. If you’re ready to combine data analytics with the excitement of NFL strategy, join the NFL Big Data Bowl 2025 on Kaggle and compete for your chance to win cash prizes while helping to reshape the way teams understand the game.
For submission guidelines please visit https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/nfl-big-data-bowl-2025