Can the NFL Push Virtual Reality into the Mainstream?

By Matthew Townsend and Vanessa Perdomo

ONE OF THE HURDLES to virtual reality going mainstream has been a lack of hit content to lure the masses. The National Football League and two former football players are trying to change that.

A few years ago, Troy Jones, who played quarterback in college, and Andrew Hawkins, a former NFL wide receiver, pitched the league and the NFL

Players Association

on a virtual reality video game. The duo, co-founders of StatusPro, won the licenses earlier this year and in September NFL Pro Era debuted for download on Meta Platforms Inc.’s Meta Quest 2 and Sony’s PlayStation VR.

“We know what it's like to be on the fi eld,” Hawkins, the company’s president, said in an interview for the latest episode of Business of Sports, a series from Bloomberg Quicktake. Their goal is to “make sure every fan of the game also gets to experience that, and this technology is what made that possible.”

Adoption of virtual reality by consumers is picking up steam with retail prices for headsets declining, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Hardware sales may triple to more than $7 billion by 2024, the researcher said. A game featuring NFL players, teams and stadiums could expand the audience.

One of the most successful franchises in the history of gaming is Electronic Arts Inc.’s Madden NFL, which has the exclusive video game licenses for the NFL and NFLPA. And just like Madden, NFL Pro Era has a star player — in Baltimore

Ravens quarterback Lamar

Jackson — to be the face of the game.

“Content goes hand in hand with any hardware and sports

Lamar Jackson

is probably what brings the most diverse group of people together,” said Jones, chief executive offi cer of StatusPro. “I think a lot of people will try VR for the fi rst time” after the launch of the game, he said.

Jones and Hawkins initially created a VR experience as a training tool. They won over coaching staff s by pitching the product as a way for players to get virtual reps in the off season

Former football players Troy Jones and Andrew Hawkins co-founded StatusPro, which recently debuted the fi rst NFLlicensed virtual reality video game.

Photographer: Tom Connors /Bloomberg

The creators of NFL Pro Era, the fi rst NFL-licensed virtual reality game, say it will help lure more people to VR headsets. To the left is a screenshot from the game. Source: StatusPro

when rules don’t allow in-person practices. Defensive coaches fi rst utilized the technology as a way to get players more experience identifying off ensive formations and lining up before the snap of the ball.

“We sat in the lab, and we were like: ‘position-by-position, coach-by-coach — how do we make their job easier?” said Hawkins, who played for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns.

After seeing the positive response from players, the company saw an opportunity to bring the experience to fans. The gameplay puts the player in the shoes of an NFL quarterback who breaks the huddle, takes a snap and looks for receivers downfi eld, while trying to avoid getting sacked by the defense.

“You'll gain an appreciation of when you see a quarterback have to break out of the pocket, extend a play and fi nd a receiver downfi eld with 280-pound guys running and chasing them down,” Jones said.

While time will tell if this game speeds up adoption of VR headsets, StatusPro is already contemplating expansion.

“We want to create these experiences across sports, not just football,” Hawkins said. To make games “that make people say: ‘I wanna try VR. I wanna put myself in this scenario.’” https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2022-09-20/cannfl -pro-era-take-vr-mainstreamfor-oculus-playstation Image credit: godtv.com, wbsnsports.com