ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ESPN's Divisional Round coverageBy Brandon Costa, Director of Digital Wednesday, December 17, 2025 - 12:30 pm
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ESPN is adding another data-driven layer to its alternate-telecast playbook. Beginning Dec. 22, the network will debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a new analytics-powered NFL presentation designed specifically for avid fans who want to go deeper than the traditional broadcast.
The data-cast will complement Monday Night Football across the final stretch of the regular season and into the postseason, blending live probabilities, advanced metrics, and AI-driven insights into a viewing experience that looks and feels more like an NFL meeting room than a standard telecast.
For ESPN, the project represents the next step in the steady evolution of alternate broadcasts-from ManningCast-style conversational formats to kid-focused animated presentations and, now, a more analytically rigorous offering aimed squarely at football diehards. For the sports-video-production community, it is also a compelling case study in how data pipelines, machine learning, and presentation design are increasingly converging inside live game coverage.
A Data-Cast Built for Avid FansMNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats will debut in Week 16 with the San Francisco 49ers-Indianapolis Colts matchup on Monday, Dec. 22 (8 p.m. ET), airing on ESPN2 and the ESPN App. The series will return in Week 17, Week 18 (as part of one of ESPN's Monday Night Football doubleheaders), and continue through ESPN's Wild Card and Divisional Round playoff games. All five editions will be available on the ESPN App for subscribers to the ESPN Unlimited plan, with select editions also airing on ESPN2.
The concept is designed to live alongside-rather than replace-the traditional Monday Night Football telecast. Fans who prefer the conventional presentation with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters, and Laura Rutledge can continue to find it on ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes, the ESPN App, and Disney+. MNF Playbook offers an alternative lens for viewers who want to understand not just what happened on a play, but why it happened-and what was likely to happen before the ball was snapped.
Inside the TruPlay AI EngineAt the core of the new presentation is Adrenaline's TruPlay AI platform, which powers the predictive analytics driving the telecast. Former NFL linebacker Sean Lee founded adrenaline, and its technology is built to translate the kinds of insights typically discussed in coaching meetings into real-time, fan-facing information.
Using NFL Next Gen Stats as its backbone, TruPlay AI leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence trained on more than a million football plays. For MNF Playbook, that translates into live probabilities and advanced metrics that update in real time based on personnel groupings, formations, and pre-snap movement. ESPN notes that the system draws from a database of more than 370,000 NFL plays layered with Next Gen Stats data, enabling features such as run-pass probabilities, expected target distributions, blitz likelihoods, and other predictive indicators.
From a production standpoint, that means building a workflow capable of ingesting live tracking data, processing it through AI models, and visualizing outputs quickly enough to remain relevant on a snap-by-snap basis. It also requires editorial discipline-deciding which data points enhance the storytelling and which risk overwhelming the viewer.
A Wide-Angle View of the GameVisually, MNF Playbook leans into a 22-man, all-field camera angle that shows the full offensive and defensive alignments on every snap. That look is increasingly familiar to fans through coaching film and digital breakdowns, but integrating it as the primary game camera for a national telecast presents its own set of challenges and opportunities.
The all-field view provides the necessary context for TruPlay AI's predictions, allowing analysts and viewers to see how formations, motion, and spacing influence the probabilities displayed on screen. It also reinforces the educational mission of the broadcast, encouraging fans to watch the game the way players and coaches do-reading leverage, identifying matchups, and anticipating tendencies before the play unfolds.
Assembling the Analyst TeamTo guide viewers through the data, ESPN has assembled a commentary team with deep on-field experience and analytical credibility. For Weeks 16 and 17, former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly will join ESPN NFL analysts Dan Orlovsky and Field Yates from ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn. In later weeks, a rotating group of ESPN voices-including Mike Monaco, Tim Hasselbeck, and Chase Daniel-will step into the booth.
The goal is a teachable presentation that balances advanced metrics with clear football explanations. A former defensive signal-caller, multiple former quarterbacks, and seasoned analysts provide the perspective needed to contextualize the data and explain how probabilities align-or clash-with instinct and experience.
Adding another layer, ESPN analytics experts Brian Burke or Seth Walder will appear each week to serve as the broadcast's resident data translators. Their role is to bridge the gap between raw probabilities and practical understanding, helping viewers interpret what the numbers suggest and how they should influence expectations on a given down and distance.
Part of a Broader Alternate-Telecast StrategyMNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats fits squarely within ESPN's broader strategy of using alternate telecasts to serve distinct audience segments without diluting the core broadcast. Rather than a novelty, the data-cast
