From statistics superfan to NFL analytics pioneer: Mike Band’s journey

Ever wonder how a kid’s passion for sports statistics could transform into a groundbreaking analytics career in the National Football League (NFL)? Meet Mike Band, senior manager of research and analytics with NFL Next Gen Stats. Band’s story proves that following your passion and curiosity can lead to extraordinary careers.

Whether you’re an aspiring data or machine learning (ML) engineer or experienced data analyst, this post offers inspiration and guidance on starting or progressing your own career journey.

The path to the big leagues

Growing up, Band was obsessed with football and statistics. He solidified that obsession with a bachelor of science degree in sports management from the University of Florida, and a master of science in analytics from the University of Chicago.

Beyond achieving educational credentials, Band’s journey took him from the college ranks to the pros. He served as a recruiting assistant at the University of Florida football program and at the Minnesota Vikings as a scouting assistant before landing with the NFL’s Next Gen Stats team—a dream job for a football stats enthusiast! But this wasn’t only about crunching numbers—it was about revolutionizing how we understand football.

Making waves at Next Gen Stats

As senior manager of research and analytics, Band has helped develop cutting-edge AI models that are changing how we analyze football. As the NFL’s proprietary player and ball tracking platform, Next Gen Stats is used by the league office, broadcasters, media partners, and all 32 teams including coaches, scouts, and players.

Working alongside Amazon Web Services (AWS), Band has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with football analytics, helping transform raw data into actionable insights. Remember that cool tackle probability model you’ve seen during games? Band and his team had a hand in building that, using AWS ML capabilities to turn the tracking data into advanced statistics to contextualize the action on the field.

Wisdom for the next generation

Band’s advice for aspiring sports analytics pros? Don’t wait for permission to pursue your passion. He emphasizes the importance of being a self-starter and letting your curiosity drive you. “The best opportunities come to those who create them,” says Band.

Here are some tenets that Band followed in his career:

• Stay hungry for knowledge, even outside office hours.
• Keep up with emerging technology, especially AI.
• Go beyond generating insights and focus on communicating insights effectively.
• Look for the next big wave in your field—and catch it.
• Turn your passion into expertise through continuous learning.

Join the ranks of technical experts building resilient, rewarding careers. AWS Skill Builder, our online learning center, offers you an entry point into this high-performance world:

1. Start your journey with a free Skill Builder account.
2. Choose role-based learning tracks such as Data Engineer or Machine Learning Engineer.
3. Take advantage of digital courses to gain foundational knowledge.
4. Develop hands-on cloud skills through AWS Cloud Quest game-based training and AWS SimuLearn, offering AI-powered, solution-building assignments.
5. Validate your skills, knowledge, and expertise with AWS Certifications.

Success isn’t only about having the right degrees or technical skills—it’s about maintaining a childlike curiosity and drive to learn more. Whether you’re dreaming of a career in sports analytics or another field, take a page from Band’s playbook: stay curious, take the initiative, and never stop learning. After all, today’s passion project could be tomorrow’s career breakthrough.

Start your learning journey today!