Structure: Trade association

Est. 2015 Revenue: $13 Billion (incl. teams)

Registered trademarks include: Super Bowl®, Super Sunday®, NFL®, AFC®”, “NFC®. The NFL also holds registration for images and logos and team names.

Cost: $1.3 Billion

Capacity: 68,500

Owner: Santa Clara Stadium Authority

Environmental: Gold LEED certified

Blending a graphic         

US 6229550 B1 - Sportvision, Inc.

One of the core patents of the Emmy-Award winning Virtual Yellow 1st & Ten® technology that ESPN unveiled in 1998. Invented by Stanford Engineering alum Stan Honey, this video overlay innovation changed the viewing experience for football fans.

Kicking tee     

Number: Des. 383,816 - H. Jay Spiegel

The GROUND ZERO(R)-1 has been used in every NFL game in the 21st century. Invented by a former Cornell University kicker, it's what to use when you want to kick a football out of the end zone on the fly!

Multilayer air-cushion shell with energy-absorbing layer for use in the construction of protective headgear

US 20060059606 A1 - Xenith Athletics, Inc.

Used in its Virginia Tech 5-star rated EPIC model, Xenith’s invention integrates three levels of compressible air chambers that produce rate-sensitive responses to both direct and shearing impacts.

Collapsible goal post for American football

US 8496547 B2 - First Down Football Products, Inc.

Levi’s Stadium was the first NFL stadium to install automatic, collapsible posts that use a hydraulic motor to raise and lower the uprights and cross bar to the playing surface.

Solar cells and solar cell modules

7,339,110; 7,897,867; 7,390,961 - SunPower Corp.

Three of the many patents comprising SunPower’s high-efficiency Maxeon solar cell that generates PV electricity from three NRG Energy-branded pedestrian bridges and the NRG Solar Terrace.

Ticket validation system

US 9038896 B2 - Venuenext, Inc.

Venue Next, founded by 49ers owner Jed York, provides the stadium’s ticket reading system. Cameras, RFID and NFC elements help make event ticketing and validation a digitally secure experience.

Personal media devices with wireless communication         

US 8718620 B2 - Apple, Inc. 

Apple’s patent covering short-range wireless communication is used in Aruba Networks’ Wi-Fi and beacon technology. More than 1,000 Aruba beacons enable fans to use the stadium’s navigation app.

Double core brace

US 7185462 B1 - SME Steel Contractors, Inc.

SME’s CoreBrace buckling restrained braces are designed to help the stadium’s steel structure resist seismic loads, and absorb the impact of earthquakes by deforming before the strain affects core members.

Network of intelligent machines         

US 20140279717 A1 - Qylur Security Systems, Inc.

The Qylatron Entry Experience Solution helps ensure venue security by combining proprietary and open-source technologies in a self-learning and updating system to quickly and accurately screen bags and other items.

Two-layer compression bandage system and methods of making and using the same

EP 2514397 A3 - Andover Healthcare, Inc.

A bandage and tape manufacturer of 35 years, Andover combined an elastic compression bandage with hydrophilic foam in a single product to help NFL players perform and recover faster.

West Coast Turf

Trademark: #74544664

The sod company that installed a new 75,000 square foot field for the game. The blend of hybrid Bermuda 419 over-seeded with perennial rye was grown in Livingston, CA.

Mouthguard with magnetic tethering         

US 8678010 B2 - The Wright Guard, Inc.

An update on the conventional tethering system strap design, The Wright Guard uses a metal/magnetic insertion to give players a more hygienic option to wedging their mouthguards behind their facemasks.