Gridiron Meets the Channel: How Providers Keep NFL in Play

As the days begin to get shorter, evening temperatures start to dip, and pumpkin spice season approaches, solace for Americans who lament the end of summer is already underway: football. 

While gridiron warriors defend their home turfs in modern-day gladiator colosseums like Lambeau Field, Lincoln Financial Field, and Gillette Stadium, IT service providers are fighting their own battles to help NFL teams operate efficiently and securely behind the scenes.

Whether that’s through threat defense, strengthening infrastructure, or elevating workflow solutions, professional sports teams have IT needs, just like any other industry. And the channel can step in to help teams keep their focus on the teams and the fans.

Securing Titletown: How the Green Bay Packers address data

One of the most storied cornerstone franchises in professional football, the Green Bay Packers, is the only community-owned team in major-league American professional sports whose origins date back to the early 20th century.

As time has marched on, the organization has come to understand the importance of modernizing its infrastructure to secure its data, protect IoT devices, and enhance managed detection and response (MDR).

This is where Palo Alto Networks has stepped in. A partner of the Packers for 15 years, Palo Alto Networks’ solutions protect the team’s data by adopting a platform approach, adding integrated solutions to gain visibility, efficiency, and strength.

Among the challenges that Palo Alto Networks had to help the franchise address were:

• Triaging inefficient alerts from point products that required too much manual labor from a small team, and lacked visibility and context.
• Improving threat defense that can cover all data sources and operate on an integrated platform.
• Serving thousands of people through advanced integrated solutions, next-level agility, and a roadmap from incident response (IR) and proactive services experts.
• Providing defense in light of the elevated risk associated with a popular brand.

The cybersecurity provider took to the whiteboard to draw up a playbook for the organization and draft the necessary tools for its execution.

Part of that game plan included a way to secure IoT devices at Lambeau Field on gameday, which each have their own data and network demands.

“Having tools that allow us to fluctuate during those times is critical for our success,” said Tony Smith, Assistant Director of IT and Information Security for the Packers.

Unit42 leader tells Channel Insider how Palo Alto’s solutions secure thousands of connections 

On gamedays, Lambeau is host to over 100,000 fans, staff, players, and vendors; 8,000 IoT devices; and 45,000 Wi-Fi clients. IoT security from Palo Alto Networks enables the Packers to map, monitor, and secure every connected device, providing a safer fan experience, improving stadium operations, and reducing blind spots across the environment.

“When an organization like the Packers faces a major event, its security team often grapples with a surge in attention from both legitimate users and malicious actors,” LeeAnne Pelzer, Senior Director, Unit 42, told Channel Insider. “The challenge is magnified by limited internal resources and the complexity of coordinating with multiple external partners. In this scenario, layered services like the Cyber Vigilance Program are crucial because they provide an end-to-end security framework that goes beyond simple monitoring.”

By switching to Palo Alto Networks’ AI-powered Cortex XSIAM, the organization gained out-of-the-box data modeling and was freed from the manual, source-by-source configuration that their old SIEM required.

This allowed the Packers to double the number of ingested data sources and enhance the value derived from security data. With a single platform, the Packers were able to cut their average resolution time from 42 minutes to 40 seconds. 

Further, out-of-the-box AI models block cyberattacks across systems without analyst intervention. The platform can save the organization up to 120 hours of labor each week.

The importance of 24/7 MDR to the Packers

Palo Alto Networks has also provided the team with 24/7 MDR with Unit 42 MDR, a tool that is natively integrated with Cortex XSIAM– responding to incidents in five minutes and resolving 135 incidents daily.

“We get far fewer alerts from Unit 42 MDR than we did from our previous provider,” said Justin Ruckel, Infrastructure and Security Manager, Green Bay Packers. “If they surface an incident, we know it’s something we need to look into, and then we work together to resolve it quickly. They use their knowledge and expertise to determine priority, which is a big time-saver.”

Pelzer explained that having a retainer-based incident response team with prior context and deep integration into their platform gives organizations an “unparalleled level of readiness and confidence.”

“This model ensures that if a major breach occurs, a response is just a phone call away, eliminating the typical delays associated with paperwork and onboarding,” said Pelzer. “Because our team is already familiar with the environment and operates within the same security platform, they can jump in and begin remediation immediately without needing to be granted access to multiple tools.”

Pelzer adds that the retainer is a dynamic resource, and when it’s not needed for an active incident, credits can be applied to proactive services, such as annual cyber risk assessments. Having such a close working relationship also builds a foundation of trust and understanding, which transforms the retainer provider into a true extension of the client’s internal team.

Lessons learned: scaling security to meet fluctuating demand is possible, but complex

For organizations seeking ways to scale their security operations, several key lessons can be gleaned from managing fluctuating operational demands. Among the most significant is the importance of a proactive, flexible, and layered security posture.

“The Packers’ success wasn’t due to a last-minute fix; it was a result of meticulous pre-event preparation that included a bespoke threat profiling and attack surface analysis,” Pelzer said. “This proactive assessment allowed them to understand their unique vulnerabilities and harden their defenses before being under pressure, demonstrating that security is not just a cost to be minimized, but a crucial investment in business resilience.”

Pelzer explained that beyond the technology, the case highlights that security is fundamentally about people and processes. The Packers stress-tested incident response plans with all key stakeholders, from technical teams to executive leadership with simulated drills and scenarios.

“This practice helped to build organizational muscle memory and identify weaknesses in communication and workflow, ensuring a more coordinated and effective response when a real incident inevitably occurs,” said Pelzer. “Furthermore, the Packers’ limited internal staff underscored a critical lesson: no organization can do it all.”

Powering the Patriot Way: NWN and Kraft Group’s five-year deal

NWN, a provider of AI-powered technology solutions, recently signed a five-year deal with the Kraft Group, the holding company that owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium.

The most successful football franchise of the first quarter of the 21st century is partnering with NWN to overhaul the existing IT infrastructure at Gillette Stadium, enhance the fan experience, modernize employee support solutions for the Kraft Group, and establish an infrastructure foundation at the new Patriots training facility.

“The Kraft Group is one of the largest privately-held companies in the United States, and we are proud to be a strategic partner to support the dynamic needs of their diverse portfolio,” said Jim Sullivan, President and CEO of NWN. “As the official technology infrastructure partner of the Kraft Group, we are excited to engineer and deliver an innovative and secure IT framework that scales with the organization and supports their long-term business objectives.”

Like the Packers, the Patriots have an enthusiastic fan base that shows up on game days, whether there’s snow or sunshine.

Why technology is a crucial component of the modern fan experience

Through the partnership, NWN is enabling the organization to create an improved guest experience at Gillette by upgrading networks, expanding coverage, providing support for ticketless entry, enhancing mobile purchasing within the venue, and improving wireless internet.

“Gillette Stadium is used throughout the year for a variety of events, and it is key for this venue to be as accommodating for our guests as possible,” said Jim Nolan, Chief Operating Officer of Kraft Sports + Entertainment. “Partnering with NWN ensures that we have the newest technological capabilities to exceed fan expectations. Their vast experience in the industry and ability to bring us new technologies– while supporting what we already have in place– is key to making our facilities a place where guests can always stay connected.”

NWN is also providing AI-powered managed services to enable players (read: employees) to receive updated meeting times, adjust training schedules based on coaching feedback, and deliver playbook content directly to a team member’s device.

Further, the training facility will be equipped with an AI-enabled environmental system that monitors the environment and can adjust temperatures, power on devices when a person enters a room, and adjust lighting to optimize the workspace for coaches and players.

Backblaze and CHESA ensure the Eagles fly in the cloud

Backblaze, a cloud storage platform, and CHESA, a media workflow solutions provider, have a long-standing partnership, and they’ve brought that connection to The Linc.

The two have utilized their partnership to help the Philadelphia Eagles transition from traditional LTO tape storage to a cloud-based media workflow. 

“Now, I can easily share entire broadcasts by copying and sharing a link from our MAM. No need for FTP downloads or uploading to other platforms,” said Stacy Kelleher, Director of Production, Philadelphia Eagles. “It’s fast, seamless, and ensures everyone can view the content without issues.”

Backblaze and CHESA helped the Eagles transition their extensive media library to Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, integrated CHESA’s tailored media workflow solutions for seamless access and collaboration, and enabled the organization to gain immediate access to decades of archived footage, facilitating faster content creation and improved fan engagement.

Backblaze CEO: NFL teams are basically large media organizations

The Eagles enjoy access to archived footage with streamlined workflows, allowing them to easily scale their storage as their content library grows.

“NEL teams are basically large media organizations. Every single game has all these cameras that are capturing the play, the players, the activities, the stands, all these different aspects and different angles,” Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman explained to Channel Insider. “They’re trying to do a variety of things with that. They need to archive it, keep it in hot storage so that they can actually do post-production on it, they need to stream it, clip it for things like Instagram posts and other short form media. What we help them and other customers with is supporting those media flows.”

Budman says that with the sheer volume of data ballooning, the organization needed a platform that could scale to accommodate that data.

“They need somewhere that’s durable for that data. These organizations are basically dealing with this incredible explosion of the data, the real-time use case of that data, and then they’re overlaying AI workflows on top of it to do things like detect specific plays, find specific clips to pull out, and overlay certain imagery on top of it, etc.,” said Budman.

The end result for the Eagles media team includes:

• Accelerated content production: Instant access to archived footage has streamlined workflows, allowing the team to create engaging content more efficiently.
• Enhanced scalability: Backblaze B2 enables the Eagles to easily scale their storage as their media library grows.
• Improved fan engagement: Accelerated production timelines for the team to deliver high-quality content that keeps fans connected and engaged.

Location solutions for the shield: Zebra Technologies and NFL partnership

The NFL itself is no stranger to solutions providers, having partnered with Zebra Technologies, a hardware, software, services, and solutions provider, through at least the 2025 football season.

This partnership makes Zebra Technologies the “Official Real Time Location Solutions Provider” of the league.

Football data and analytics enters a new era

Zebra Technologies has collaborated with the NFL since 2015, offering a player and ball-tracking solution that supports the new era of football data and analytics.

“As a global leader in location solutions, we provide similar real-time insights and solutions for enterprises of all sizes across multiple industries to help improve their operational visibility and the ultimate performance of their frontlines,” said Joe White, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Product, Zebra Technologies.

The real-time tracking solutions that Zebra Technologies provides enhance the fan experience, enabling them to better understand the action on the field. It also helps coaches prepare for games, as well as assist the NFL league office in better studying the impact of rule changes.

Whether it’s through playing strong defense to secure environments on game days and beyond, or through providing fans and teams with a substantial, data-driven experience, the crossover of sports and technology is becoming increasingly undeniable. The NFL operates as 32 different businesses, each with unique needs that solution providers can address, proving that the channel is crucial for organizations of all kinds to meet the future head-on.

MSPs are trusted allies in enterprise technology deals and crucial to end-users in their buying journeys. Read more about why it’s even more critical for B2B IT buyers to utilize the channel.