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NFL v3 Play-by-Play logo

NFL v3 Play-by-Play

NFL v3 Play-by-Play

Upentertainmentby Sportsdata

SportsDataIO NFL Play-by-Play API provides per-play NFL game data — every pass/run/defensive play's details, field position, players involved.

Visit site ↗Health checked 9h ago
Use it when

150+ plays per game with full detail

Watch for

Paid and relatively expensive (PBP data is premium)

First check

Subscribe to NFL Play-by-Play plan on sportsdata.io. GET /v3/nfl/pbp/json/PlayByPlay/{score}?key=... pulls real-time during games.

Auth
—
CORS
No
HTTPS
Yes
Signup
?
Latency
18 ms
Protocol
REST
Pricing
—

Uptime · 30-day window

Probes: 1Uptime: 100%Avg latency: 18ms
01

About this API

Play-by-Play data is the most premium in sports-data APIs — 150+ plays per NFL game, each with dozens of fields (offensive formation, QB position, RB direction, receiver, defensive alignment, distance to first down, play result yards gained, etc.). This granular data enables deep analysis: compute per-play EPA (Expected Points Added, the core modern NFL analytics metric), success rate by situation, team's third-down conversion %, specific defensive alignment effectiveness against specific offensive plays. Users mainly include data analysts, sports researchers, ML model trainers, advanced commentary platforms. AI video editing is an emerging use case — using PBP text data to auto-find highlights (touchdowns, interceptions, long passes) and cut videos.

02

What you can build

  • 1Granular NFL analysis (per-play EPA, success rate)
  • 2Real-time text commentary for broadcasts
  • 3Team tactical research
  • 4AI auto-highlight reel generation
03

Strengths & limitations

Strengths

  • 150+ plays per game with full detail
  • Real-time push (minute-level latency during games)
  • Complete fields (offensive/defensive lineups, player positions, play types)

Limitations

  • Paid and relatively expensive (PBP data is premium)
  • Large data volume (several MB JSON per game)
04

Example request

Generic template — replace <endpoint> with the real path from the docs.
curl https://sportsdata.io/<endpoint>
05

Getting started

Subscribe to NFL Play-by-Play plan on sportsdata.io. GET /v3/nfl/pbp/json/PlayByPlay/{score}?key=... pulls real-time during games.

06

FAQ

How far back can historical PBP go?+

SportsDataIO typically provides complete PBP data for the last 5-10 seasons; older requires sales contact.

07

Technical details

CORS: NoHTTPS: YesSignup: ?Open source: No
Auth type
unknown
Pricing
unknown
Protocols
REST
SDKs
python, javascript, go, java, csharp
Response time
18 ms
Last health check
5/12/2026, 7:38:27 AM
08

Tags

nflplay-by-playsportsfootball
09

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