Wilson Sporting Goods officially launched its “smart football” Monday for amateur quarterbacks who want NFL-type data on their performance. Available in regulation and junior sizes, the ball can connect to any smart device and comes with a wrist coach for attaching a smart phone to the player’s non-throwing arm.
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“Our Wilson X Connected Football marries the best in digital technology with the top performing football in the world to create an immersive gaming experience for fans that was not possible before”, said Thurman in a statement. The Wilson X Football app for Android and iOS will be free to download on September 8. Players also receive their very own quarterback ranking score.
Key to the Wilson X Connected Football is a tiny, undetectable sensor that is embedded in an actual Wilson football. Whether or not this will give you the edge you need to play for the National Football League remains to be seen, but if you’re just looking to improve your current game, it could come in handy.
Bob Thurman, Vice President of Wilson Labs, the innovation hub at Wilson, said the football is created to give fans a taste of what life as a professional quarterback is like.
Wilson says the football has a battery that lasts for more than 500 hours, or roughly 200,000 passes.
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Wilson, which first previewed the smart ball around the time of the Super Bowl, already generated a lot of buzz with its smart basketball, introduced last September. In American football, Wilson is the preferred equipment partner of 37 high school state athletic association state championship programs. It also doesn’t need a charge, offering up to 200,000 throws before becoming just another football. Earlier this year, Wilson was recognized as one of the “Most Innovative Companies in Sports” by Fast Company.
