Zebra to Track Players’ Performance At East-West Shrine Bowl

Published: January 30, 2025
  • Zebra will offer RFID tracking technology to track players during the college all star game this weekend
  • Tags attached to players’ shoulder pads to capture real-time data like speed, distance covered

As football fans await the Super Bowl, Zebra Technologies is helping the rest of the NFL use RFID technology to evaluate the next draft class that will enter the league this spring.

The yearly East West Shrine Bowl all-star college game showcases the best players looking to be drafted. As part of the information gathered on players from each team, Zebra will offer RFID tracking technology to the game held on Jan. 30 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

“As the longest running college all-star football game in the U.S., the East-West Shrine Bowl shines a spotlight on the top college players in front of NFL scouts and a national television audience,” said Eric Galko, director of football operations, player personnel for East-West Shrine Bowl. “We are thrilled to work with Zebra Technologies for the fourth consecutive year to enhance this experience with its proven sports tracking technology.”

RFID Tech Used

Zebra’s RFID technology uses tags attached to players’ shoulder pads to capture real-time data like speed, distance covered, direction, acceleration and much more.

This information helps scouts and coaches evaluate player performance more effectively. Zebra’s expertise in tracking technology goes beyond sports—it’s used in industries like healthcare, retail, manufacturing, transportation and logistics to help businesses improve operational efficiency and decision-making.

Online Tracking

For daily updates and detailed player performance metrics, a East-West Shrine Bowl Performance Tracker has been set up.

“Zebra Technologies is pleased to continue our work with the iconic East-West Shrine Bowl to deploy the same RFID tracking technology that is used across the NFL,” said Joe White, chief product & solutions officer, Zebra Technologies.

“The performance metrics we capture will help showcase the best college football players in the country to NFL coaches, scouts and general managers, enabling them to more strategically evaluate the players’ on-field performance during the game.”

NFL Partnership

For the past 10 years, Zebra has been the official real-time location solutions provider for the NFL, powering the league’s NextGen Stats platform. Through the partnership, the technology compnay tracks every ball and player on every team, for every game, every week of the NFL season.

Zebra attaches UWB RFID tags to players’ shoulder pads that transmit real-time location data to a series of receivers around a practice facility or stadium to gather performance metrics such as speed, distance traveled, orientation and acceleration. Specialized RFID-tagged footballs capture passing and kicking information data, including velocity, rotation, distance and height. This information is then utilized by the NFL to calculate vast amounts of information, commonly known as Next Gen Stats.

Measuring Greatness

Earlier this year, Zebra’s launched the Measuring Greatness initiative, aimed at telling the story of how the technology helps boost performance for athletes on the field as well as how it affects the various professionals in the industry, such as merchandise vendors and broadcasters.

First up on the individual level was TJ Tampa, an NFL rookie cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens. He volunteered to report his experience with the UWB technology to help him measure his progress from early in his professional career.

“The data that Zebra collects during games is valuable because it helps add context to what myself, my coaches and my teammates are seeing on film each week,” he said. “I’m in my rookie season, so this is my first experience with this type of information. Even though the stats are new to me, I can see why they’re such a valuable resource for the NFL, teams, players, coaches and even fans.”

Benefiting Shriner Hospital

The East-West Shrine Bowl was played in 1925 and is a benefit for Shriners Hospitals for Children and its mission to provide advanced care for orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families’ ability to pay for services.

As part of the exclusive partnership, Zebra is making a charitable donation to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

“The philanthropic component of the East-West Shrine Bowl makes it more than an all-star game,” said White. “We are proud to continue to support the Shriners’ mission which is aligned with our commitment to help improve the health of our local communities.”

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