Contacts:
Chris Widmaier/Mike Signora
National Football League
212-450-2066
widmaierc@nfl.com/signoram@nfl.com

NEW YORK, September 8, 1999 -- NFL.com, the league’s official Web site, will offer NFL fans more options than ever before, including exclusive video highlights and real-time stats and graphics, a new NFL Shop, new multimedia packages, and expanded sections for the NFL Quarterback Club, Coaches Club and NFL International.

"We expect more than 500,000 fans will log-on to NFL.com each Sunday this season," said Jaan Janes, senior director of programming and marketing for NFL Interactive. "NFL.com is the perfect companion to watching our games on broadcast television, plus we’ve developed a programming lineup to satisfy NFL fans online seven days a week."

Video programming will be an integral part of NFL.com in 1999, and the league’s official site will be the only site on the Internet where fans can see NFL game footage. NFL Films is producing exclusive three-minute video highlight packages for each team every week. These packages will be available each evening following game play. Additionally, NFL Films will develop short-form feature programming for NFL.com including historical retrospectives, weekly previews and player spotlights.

The site continues as the only one on the Internet to offer real-time play-by-play and statistics of NFL action courtesy of Game Day Live. Fans can customize their own statistics packages through applications including Team by Team Matchups, Sortable Statistics and Player Tracker. Player Tracker enables fans to follow the statistical accomplishments of their favorite players while games are in progress.

The site will continue to present a high level of interactivity through fan voting, polls, chats, and games such as QB1, allowing fans to predict the plays in select games. (A schedule of NFL head coach chats is attached.) In addition, the league has added an e-mail newsletter providing timely updates for league and team information. Fans anywhere in the United States or overseas can now interact with each other via NFL.com’s team specific message boards. Fans can post their insights and opinions, and can even create their own polls.

In its expanded relationship with the Coaches Club, NFL.com will present coaches’ playbooks. This section will provide detailed multimedia dissections of coaching philosophies complete with video, sound and moving graphics. Dennis Green may open his record-setting offensive playbook, while the defensive stunts created by Tony Dungy will be revealed.

The NFL online shop also has expanded dramatically this year. NFL.com will be the largest e-retailer of NFL licensed products on the Internet. In its new relationship with Venator, the owner of Eastbay, Foot Locker and Champs, the NFL will build the largest centralized inventory and develop avenues to sell the NFL licensed product through cataloging and e-commerce.

Fan voting will again include Pro Bowl balloting and selection of the Staples NFL Coach of the Year. New this year, fans will also have the opportunity to choose the greatest NFL game of all-time beginning in mid-season.