Pro Football Focus

Pro Football Focus
source
Name	Pro Football Focus
Founded	2004
Founders	Neil Hornsby
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio
Industry	Sports analytics
Products	Player grades, advanced statistics, scouting reports, subscription services, draft analysis

Pro Football Focus is an American sports analytics organization focused on professional American football. Founded in 2004, it produces player grades, advanced statistics, and scouting content used by media outlets, teams, and fans. The organization operates subscription services and provides research, consulting, and licensing for broadcasters, franchises, and bettors.

History

The organization traces origins to the United Kingdom and a founder who began grading games for Premier League football before shifting focus to National Football League coverage, expanding coverage through partnerships with outlets such as ESPN, The Athletic, NFL Network, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and Yahoo! Sports. Early milestones include media features in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Bleacher Report that elevated visibility among fans and franchises including the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants. Growth accelerated through collaborations with events like the NFL Draft, the Pro Bowl, and the Super Bowl, and with broadcasters for coverage of the Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football packages. Expansion of staff and technology paralleled investments and hiring from institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of Florida, and Ohio State University for data science and scouting expertise. Corporate developments included relocation of offices to Cincinnati, Ohio and later integration of enterprise services used by franchises such as the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.

Methodology and grading system

The organization assigns play-by-play grades using human analysts and proprietary templates; analysts are often former scouts and coaches from programs like Alabama Crimson Tide football, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Oklahoma Sooners football, USC Trojans football, and LSU Tigers football. Grading procedures reference route concepts seen in games involving teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts. The dataset includes situational context applied to plays from seasons featuring players like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Derrick Henry, and Aaron Donald. Metrics include pass-rush productivity, run-stop percentage, and adjusted completion percentage, integrated with models influenced by quantitative research from institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of California, Berkeley. Analysts use video from providers tied to the NFL Films archive and submit grades reviewed through processes reflecting standards used by franchises such as the New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, and Chicago Bears. The methodology informs draft grades that scouts compare to outputs from the NFL Scouting Combine, Senior Bowl, and East–West Shrine Bowl.

Products and services

Offerings include season-long player grades, position rankings, weekly snap counts, advanced statistics, and scouting reports used by media including Pro Football Writers of America, Rotowire, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today. Commercial services include enterprise licensing for franchises, betting partnerships with operators like DraftKings and FanDuel for model feeds, and integrations for broadcasters such as NBC Sports and CBS Sports Network. The company produces content for draft seasons, including mock drafts and prospect profiles referencing performance at NFL Scouting Combine events and collegiate programs such as Clemson Tigers football, Florida State Seminoles football, and Texas Longhorns football. Products also include historical databases covering Hall of Fame candidates associated with institutions such as Pro Football Hall of Fame, and award trackers for the Heisman Trophy, Butkus Award, and Outland Trophy.

Influence and reception

The organization’s metrics have been cited by coaches, general managers, and front offices of franchises such as the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and New Orleans Saints for personnel evaluation. Media reception spans features in The Washington Post, Vox, The Guardian, and Bloomberg describing its role in the analytics movement alongside entities like Football Outsiders and ESPN Stats & Info. Its graded film-based approach has influenced scouting departments in collegiate programs such as Penn State Nittany Lions football and Michigan Wolverines football, and analytics units in sports organizations like Major League Baseball clubs adopting sabermetric principles exemplified by Oakland Athletics front office strategies. Betting markets and fantasy sports communities on platforms like Rotowire and Sleeper (app) use its data for decision-making, while broadcasters incorporate visualizations during coverage of events such as the NFC Championship Game and AFC Championship Game.

Controversies and criticisms

Critics from outlets including The Athletic, Deadspin, and SB Nation have questioned consistency and subjectivity in grading, citing disagreements with evaluations for players such as Ezekiel Elliott, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Jalen Ramsey, and Jameis Winston. Analysts at universities like Yale University and Princeton University have published academic evaluations comparing its metrics to alternative approaches from Pro Football Reference and Sports Info Solutions. Debates have appeared on programs hosted by personalities such as Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, Mike Florio, and Colin Cowherd over the interpretation of its grades versus traditional statistics. Concerns about conflicts of interest have emerged when enterprise contracts overlapped with media partnerships involving broadcasters like Fox Sports and betting firms such as DraftKings.

Corporate structure and ownership

The company operates as a privately held entity headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with executive leadership whose backgrounds include experience at institutions such as Sky Sports and academic credentials from London School of Economics and University College London. Ownership has involved private investment and strategic partnerships with media companies and venture investors connected to firms in the United States and United Kingdom. Board members and advisers have included former executives from Sky Sports, ESPN, and former NFL front office personnel who worked for franchises such as the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

Category:Sports analytics companies Category:American companies established in 2004