NFL to use facial authentication technology for credentialed workers, not ‘everyone at the game’

Social media posts warned of the NFL rolling out new technology to speed up the process of entering football stadiums. 

"The NFL will now use facial recognition at every stadium to verify the identity of everyone at the game," text added to an image shared Aug. 4 on Instagram read. 

The post’s caption added more information.

"The #NFL is rolling out facial authentication technology in its stadiums starting on August 8," it read. "The system allows fans to breeze through entry gates with a simple glance for speedy access and shorter lines. It also recognizes players and employees so that only properly credentialed individuals can access the locker rooms and the press box."

(Screenshot from Instagram)

Some posts cast the NFL’s purported plan as unsettling surveillance. 

"BIG BROTHER: The NFL announced this week that all 32 teams will be implementing facial recognition software to verify the identity of everyone in the stadium," read an Aug. 6 Facebook post. 

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These posts mischaracterize the NFL’s plans. The league is implementing a new system for some staff and other stadium workers that relies on facial authentication software. But it won’t apply to all fans.

NFL Communications Director Tim Schlittner said the league is implementing a new process for people "with working credentials," including team and game day personnel, vendors and media. 

"Fans are not included in the policy," he said. 

Under the new system, credential holders for all 32 NFL teams will be required to submit photos in advance. Then, Schlittner said "facial authentication" technology will be used to grant those people access to various parts of the stadium. 

Software from the facial authentication platform Wicket will compare credential holders’ submitted photos to a real-time image of their face, Sports Business Journal reported. That report also said the software will be used for "high-security zones including the playing field, locker room and press box."

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This will not apply to fans: "No fan is required to submit a photo to attend an NFL game," Schlittner said.

He said the change — an expansion of a pilot program launched at six stadiums last season — should "make credentialed access more efficient and secure."

Some people whom the new system would affect have objected to the change. Officials from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and its union said the league’s plan to use facial authentication technology would compromise officers’ privacy, The Associated Press reported. 

Jeff Boehm, Wicket’s chief operating officer, told PolitiFact in an email that the company’s technology "is NOT used to verify the identity of everyone at a game or in a stadium."

Boehm said the NFL’s program is for credentialed people and "is not fan-facing." 

Most facial recognition technology "is used as a surveillance tool to identify ‘persons of interest’ in a large crowd or gathering," he said. Facial authentication technology is different, Boehm said, because people opt-in; the photos used are "much higher quality photos than surveillance images," which improves accuracy; and the data collected is used for the specific purposes stated — such as verifying a credential. 

Some sports teams and live events have started using the technology for attendees seeking special access, he said, but their participation in those programs is optional.

"Fans choose to participate and can opt-out at any time and use traditional methods for ticketing" or concessions, Boehm said. 

A general overall interior view of the stadium during an NFL football game between the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots on Oct. 16, 2022, in Cleveland. (AP)

At Cleveland Browns Stadium, fans can choose to submit a photo to gain access to benefits such as "Express Access" ticketing lanes, which the Cleveland Browns’ website described as "the fastest way into the stadium on gameday." Wicket’s 2023 press release about the Cleveland Browns’ initiative addressed privacy concerns, describing its products as "opt-in only."

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Atlanta Falcons play, also uses Wicket’s technology for its "Delta Fly-Through Lanes." 

An Instagram post claimed "The NFL will now use facial recognition at every stadium to verify the identity of everyone at the game."

That mischaracterizes the league’s plan to adopt a new system that will rely on facial authentication software to grant credentialed staff and other stadium workers access to secured areas of the stadium. That change will not apply to all fans.

At least one NFL team’s stadium has started offering faster ticketing and concessions service to fans who choose to enroll in a program that uses facial authentication software to access special ticketing and concessions lines. That program is voluntary.

We rate the claims that the NFL will use facial recognition to "verify the identity of everyone" at every game False.