Powering the play: Verizon elevates the NFL gameday experience worldwide

At a glance

• Connected officiating: Officials use league-issued connected watches powered by Verizon’s private wireless network to receive real-time play/game clock, virtual measurement, and punt out-of-bounds alerts.
  
  
• Global expansion: Verizon’s ultra-reliable, low-latency private wireless footprint expands across nine international NFL games in eight overseas venues during the 2026 season.
  
  
• Stadium upgrades: Multi-hundred-million-dollar venue investments—including 5G C-band, mmWave DRAN, and DAS technology—power record fan data demands across key NFL stadiums nationwide.
  
  

Verizon is powering the ultimate gameday experience for the 2026 NFL season. From seamlessly connecting officials and coaches for critical game-time decisions to transforming how millions of fans experience the game live in stadiums across the world, Verizon’s networks continue to serve as the technological backbone of America’s favorite sport.

“Whether it’s giving fans the power to share the big moments from their seats or delivering instant, mission-critical connectivity to coaches on the field, our network evolution is transforming every aspect of the game,” said Joe Russo, EVP and President of Global Networks and Technology at Verizon. “We are laying a high-speed, low-latency foundation that will power live sports operations and fan engagement for years to come. And, we’re not sitting on the sidelines, we’re actively testing and exploring new innovations with the NFL, leveraging the private network. As an avid fan and former player in my day, driving this game-changing evolution is personally so exciting for me, and the best is yet to come.”

As an official NFL partner since 2010, Verizon continues to power some of the league’s most critical gameday solutions. Since the beginning of the 2025 season, five officials per game have worn league-issued connected watches powered by Verizon’s private wireless network. Operating in an environment where officials make countless decisions per game, these connected watches provide NFL officiating with an additional way to communicate game information.

Integrated with live data tracking systems, the watches deliver real-time alerts throughout each game, including:

• Game and play clock alerts

• Line-to-gain/first down virtual measurement results

• Punt out-of-bounds location

The private wireless network driving these watches was first deployed across all 30 U.S. NFL stadiums in 2023 to secure coach-to-coach communications against stadium signal interference providing crystal-clear, reliable communications when milliseconds matter. This season, Verizon is expanding this ultra-reliable, low-latency footprint globally—deploying temporary private networks across nine international games in eight overseas venues to give coaches and officials the same seamless experience worldwide.

When fans in the stadium are focused on the game, sharing the excitement on social media and checking their fantasy lineups, Verizon has them covered so they never have to think about their connectivity. With more and more fans using their phones at stadiums for digital entry, watching game highlights, checking player stats and making concession payments, data usage skyrockets every season.

During NFL Kickoff Weekend, Verizon customers used a staggering 120.7 terabytes of data across 15 U.S. games, up nearly 140% from 2024 Kickoff Weekend. That’s equivalent to 230 years of continuous, non-repeating music streaming (~30 million songs).

To handle this ever-increasing data demand, Verizon’s multi-hundred-million-dollar stadium investments are turning concrete and steel venues into ultra-connected high-tech digital hubs. Since last season, Verizon has made significant upgrades to networks serving football fans in ten stadiums, adding 5G C-band and mmWave DRAN (Distributed Radio Access Network) technology to cover the highest capacity areas including the bowl and the field, supplementing with Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) across major venues to cover lower capacity need areas supporting Verizon and all wireless carriers.

• As the Official 5G Network and a Founding Partner of the new Highmark Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills, Verizon installed a new neutral host DAS and DRAN technology inside the stadium, extending DRAN coverage into surrounding parking lots for maximum capacity to keep the legendary “Bills Mafia” connected. Fans also benefit from ultra-fast Wi-Fi coverage and high-definition video distributed throughout concourses, suites and common areas so they never miss a single play. The stadium was also outfitted with a secure network backbone designed to protect venue data and ensure mission-critical systems operate without interruption. Plus, Verizon-provided mobile phones and enterprise tablets used by stadium staff and operations enable fast communication and dynamic fan support anywhere in the venue.
  
  
• Verizon recently completed C-Band additions and network expansions at Northwest Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, Reliant Stadium, Acrisure Stadium and Lumen Field. Verizon also added more parking lot capacity at Empower Field.
  
  
• At Caesars Superdome, Verizon added a staggering array of 509 DRAN mmWave radios, 155 C-Band radios, and high-power ball-shaped antennas overhead, while at NRG Stadium 45 hybrid DRAN nodes were deployed with micro-sectoring technology to slice dynamic crowd data, backed by dual 100 Gbps fiber links.
  
  

As the 2026 season unfolds, Verizon remains committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible—ensuring that whether on the 50-yard line or in the upper deck, every fan, coach and official benefits from the most advanced, connected NFL season yet.