PFF Is Going B2B — What It Means for NFL Fans
Pro Football Focus just made the biggest move in NFL analytics since they launched. And if you're a fan, it directly affects you.
PFF laid off its entire consumer content team. Writers, analysts, social media — gone. The company is pivoting to B2B: selling data to NFL teams, broadcast networks, and media companies. Not to the fans who made PFF what it is.
This isn't a rumor. It's happening. And it changes the NFL analytics landscape for every fan who spent $24.99 a month on player grades, draft analysis, and fantasy rankings.
Here's what you need to know.
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What Happened
PFF built the most comprehensive player grading system in football. Every snap, every player, graded by human analysts watching All-22 film. That data became the industry standard. NFL front offices licensed it. NBC Sports integrated it into broadcasts. ESPN analysts cited PFF grades like scripture.
The problem: the consumer side of the business was never the money machine. B2B data licensing — selling to teams, networks, and sportsbooks — generates multiples of what a $24.99/mo fan subscription brings in.
So PFF made the business decision. Cut the consumer content team. Double down on B2B.
From a boardroom perspective, it makes sense. From a fan perspective, it stings.
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What Changes for Fans
What's going away (or getting worse):The question isn't whether PFF grades will exist. They will — that's the B2B product. The question is whether the fan-facing experience — the one you paid for — will get the investment it needs to stay relevant. History says no. When companies pivot to enterprise, consumer products become afterthoughts.
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Why This Was Inevitable
PFF's model had a structural tension from the start.
Grading every snap of every game requires hundreds of analysts working thousands of hours. That's expensive. A consumer subscription at $24.99/mo can't fund that operation at scale — not with the conversion rates typical of sports analytics products (1-3% of visitors).
B2B can. One NFL team licensing PFF data pays more annually than thousands of consumer subscribers. One broadcast deal with NBC or ESPN dwarfs the entire consumer revenue line.
PFF didn't abandon fans out of spite. The economics made the decision for them.
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What This Means for the Analytics Landscape
Here's the silver lining: PFF leaving the consumer space doesn't create a vacuum. It reveals how much the landscape has already changed.
Five years ago, PFF was the only serious NFL analytics platform for fans. You either paid PFF or you used basic stat sites. In 2026, the landscape looks completely different:The era of one company owning NFL analytics is over. What replaces it is better.
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Where to Go Now
If you're a displaced PFF user, here's how to think about what you actually need:
"I used PFF for draft prep and mock drafts"Try StickToTheModel. Full 7-round mock draft simulator with AI opponents, prospect analytics, scouting reports, and a community consensus board from 300K+ mocks. The Be A GM mode lets you plan an entire offseason — trades, cuts, free agent signings, then the draft. Free tier available.
"I used PFF for fantasy football research" StickToTheModel has ADP analysis across all major platforms, VORP calculators, and player comparison tools. PlayerProfiler is another option if you want deep fantasy-specific advanced metrics. "I used PFF mainly for contract and cap data"Spotrac is the gold standard for contract data. Pair it with StickToTheModel's Be A GM mode if you want to actually simulate cap moves instead of just looking at spreadsheets.
"I used PFF for player grades specifically"This is the one area where there's no direct replacement. PFF's film grades are proprietary and nobody else does snap-by-snap grading at that scale. But for most fans, analytics-based player rankings and efficiency metrics serve the same practical purpose — identifying who's good, who's not, and who's trending.
"I just liked having everything in one place"That's the real loss. PFF was a one-stop shop. The closest equivalent in 2026 is StickToTheModel — draft, fantasy, analytics, betting, and cap tools on one platform — but with interactive features PFF never offered.
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The Bigger Picture
PFF's pivot is a signal, not a surprise. The future of sports analytics is tools, not content. Fans don't just want to read about which quarterback is the best value in round two. They want to draft that quarterback in a simulator, trade up to get him, see how it affects their team's cap, and share the results.
The companies that win in this space will be the ones building interactive experiences — not just publishing data behind a paywall.
PFF built something incredible. The film grades changed how football is analyzed and discussed. That contribution to the sport is real and lasting.
But the consumer analytics game has moved on. The tools are better, cheaper, and more fun than what existed when PFF was the only option. If you're looking for your next home — the options are out there. And most of them cost less than what you were paying before.
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If you're looking for a new NFL analytics platform, StickToTheModel offers a free tier with full access to mock draft simulators, Be A GM offseason planning, prospect analytics, fantasy tools, and betting insights. No credit card required.