How Madden 22’s AI makes better use of NFL Next Gen Stats

EA showed off Madden NFL 22 for the first time this week during a press briefing, and one of its most intriguing aspects will be its deeper integration with the league’s Next Gen Stats to improve the long-running sim’s AI.

Next Gen Stats is a division of the NFL that’s a partnership with Zebra Technologies and Wilson Sporting Goods. It uses radio-frequency identification tabs (RFIDs) on the player’s shoulder pads and the ball, cameras posted around stadiums, and other tech to not just get stats we’re used to like Yards After the Catch (YAC) but telemetry that, as Next Gen’s website says, “captures player data such as location, speed, distance traveled, and acceleration at a rate of 10 times per second and charts individual movements within inches.”