Fourth Down Situation: How the NFL's Data Chief Is Responding to the Covid-19 Crisis

Stadiums closed; mass sporting events canceled... tough days for the sports industry, which is projected to lose $61.1 billion in revenue in 2020 due to Covid-19, according to one new research study. The NFL is preparing for its season this Fall – how is the league navigating decision making and planning during this time?

Tiger and Arjun invited Mr. Iwao Fusillo back on the show, who is Senior Vice President for Data Analytics and Insights at the NFL. There is so much that data can tell us about this crisis and the appropriate responses the sports industry should take, and few people are as well positioned and informed as Mr. Fusillo to answer some of our burning questions: What are the fans saying about returning to normal? Do they want to start watching games live again, or is there concern about live events? What is the role that data-driven approaches play in a crisis situation like the current pandemic? How is the NFL responding in a data-driven way to Covid? How difficult is it to plan scenarios and conduct extensive stress testing when the current situation is so uncertain, and data and trends seem to change weekly?

You will hear some very surprising data from this interview: for instance, while there is a long-term secular trend in declining households using TV, the NFL continues to increase viewership across all demographic segments including female, Hispanic, and even Gen Z. In fact, for the virtual NFL Draft during Covid, the NFL had the largest year-over-year increase ever in Gen Z viewership at 71%, with female and Hispanic also showing deep double digit increases.

Mr. Fusillo also talks about leadership and decision making in crisis moments. He says that over the course of a 30-40 year career, one would typically need to lead through 3 global crises, and for him, it was 9/11 in 2001, the financial crisis in 2008, and now the 2020 Covid pandemic. At the NFL, in a matter of days after the pandemic hit, Mr. Fusillo's team stood up a credit risk assessment capability used across thousands of league and team sponsors, product and media partners, significantly enhancing the League's risk tolerance and response in this crisis.

And Mr. Fusillo's punchline for us this time? The business world transformed over the past couple of decades where Chief Financial Officers are now just as likely to be tapped for CEO and public company board positions as their COO and CMO counterparts. Mr. Fusillo's prediction is that in the coming 10-20 years, the business world will transform again, where Chief Data Officers will soon become the most likely to be tapped for CEO and board positions. And ironically, COVID-19 somewhat accelerated us on this very positive path for the rise of technologists and data scientists in our business world.

Iwao Fusillo