Accenture Named Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner of the National Football League

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2024--

The National Football League and Accenture (NYSE:ACN) announced today a partnership naming Accenture the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner of the NFL. Throughout the five-year partnership, the NFL will harness Accenture’s technology and data expertise to help shape the future of football.

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“We are thrilled to welcome Accenture as the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner of the NFL,” said Tracie Rodburg, senior vice president of sponsorship management at the NFL. “We both understand the importance of embracing change and the transformational power of technology. As the game continues to evolve, we will lean on Accenture’s knowledge and expertise to elevate various areas of our business to benefit our game and our fans.”

To continually innovate both on and off the field, Accenture and the NFL will team up to enhance data-driven decision making in three key league business areas: Football, financial operations, and human resources.

“Nothing is more exciting than working with a brand that is so committed to reinventing itself by pushing boundaries, incorporating both technology and AI into every level of football,” said Jill Kramer, chief marketing and communications officer at Accenture. “We are proud to partner with the league as it continues to drive innovation—through the use of AI and data-driven strategies—across key areas of its business.”

In the partnership, Accenture will deploy its experience, expertise and best practices across multiple industry sectors. This work will elevate the NFL’s corporate and club financial operations across its systems, processes and personnel. It will be driven by increased visibility into the data and metrics behind the numbers.

In addition, the NFL will collaborate with Accenture to support and transform human resource (HCM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) functions and analytics. Accenture will continue to drive new efficiencies and automation across the NFL’s back-office functions.

Noel Winn, Accenture’s client account lead for the NFL said, “We are so excited to launch this partnership with the NFL and to have the opportunity to help guide their future vision by strengthening not only their back office but tying those efficiencies to operations and fan experience as well.”

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 742,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

The National Football League and Accenture announced a partnership on technology, naming Accenture the Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner of the NFL. (Graphic: Business Wire)

MIAMI (AP) — Edwin Díaz is open to a change to help ignite the slumping New York Mets — even if that means losing his job as closer.

Amid a terrible start to the season in which he's blown two consecutive save chances and three of his last four, the star reliever with a $102 million contract said he would be willing to accept a different role if the team thinks that's best.

“I’m open to everything,” Díaz said Saturday after squandering a four-run lead in the ninth inning against one of the league's worst hitting teams in the Miami Marlins.

Díaz has a 10.80 ERA over his last eight appearances after serving up four homers in 8 1/3 innings.

"I want to help my team to win," he said. "That’s my main thing. If they want to talk to me about that and I feel good about it, I agree on it. I just want to win games in any position they put me."

The struggling Mets (20-25) led the Marlins 9-5 when Díaz entered in the ninth.

He allowed an RBI single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. that drove in Vidal Bruján, who led off with a double. Bryan De La Cruz reached on an infield single with one out, and Josh Bell hammered Díaz’s first-pitch slider 428 feet to straightaway center field for a three-run shot that tied it.

That was it for Díaz, who wasn’t charged with a blown save because he came in with a four-run lead. But in his past three outings he's given up seven earned runs, seven hits, three walks and two homers over 2 1/3 innings.

New York lost 10-9 when Otto Lopez singled home the winning run off Jorge López in the 10th.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he's concerned about his closer's confidence. The 30-year-old Díaz, a two-time All-Star, thinks the reasons for his struggles this season are mostly mental.

“I won’t lie, my confidence I feel is down right now,” he said. "I’m making pitches. I’m throwing strikes. I’m trying to do my best to help the team to win. Right now I’m not in that capacity.

“Physically, I feel 100 percent right now. My body is not an issue. I think right now I’ve got to think about what I’m doing, trust myself a little bit more when I’m on the mound. I think I’m thinking too much.”

Mendoza indicated the team would consider moving Díaz out of the closer role to help him rebuild his confidence.

“It’s one of those things, I have to talk to the coaching staff and to Edwin,” Mendoza said, "whether we want to find him some softer spots to get him going. He’s still our closer and he will get through it.”

Saturday was Díaz’s first outing at Miami’s home ballpark since he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee there while celebrating a win for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.

The injury required surgery and cost him the entire 2023 season. He was baseball's most dominant closer in 2022, striking out 118 batters in 62 innings while saving 32 games and compiling a 1.31 ERA.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Miami Marlins' Josh Bell, left, celebrates with Bryan De La Cruz (14) after Bell hit a home run scoring De La Cruz and Jazz Chisholm Jr., during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

New York Mets pitcher Edwin Díaz (39) reacts after giving up runs to the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)