John Lynch is not subtle about where he thinks the NFL is headed.
The San Francisco 49ers general manager said recently that any team not already using artificial intelligence in its operations is falling behind, framing the technology as a competitive necessity rather than a novelty. "If you aren't using it, you're already behind," Lynch said, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic.
Lynch did not specify exactly how the 49ers are applying AI within their football operation, but he suggested the barrier to entry is lower than people might expect. "The cool thing is what we found is you don't need to be an expert," he said. "Just like you at home planning a travel itinerary, you can just ask the thing, and it can spit out some pretty good things, some pretty good ideas."
He acknowledged that San Francisco has a built-in geographic advantage. The organization sits near the heart of Silicon Valley, giving it access to developers and innovators working at the leading edge of the technology. "Our developers, I think we're fortunate to be where we are, kind of at the epicenter of the innovation there," Lynch said. "And we've tried to take advantage of that."
Lynch added that he believes every team in the league is probably using AI in some form, and that adoption will only grow. What remains unclear is whether the 49ers are doing something materially different from their peers or simply doing more of the same thing more aggressively.
The comments came ahead of the NFL Draft, where front offices spend months processing enormous volumes of player data, film, medical records, and background information. AI tools designed to synthesize that kind of information quickly could give a team a meaningful edge during the evaluation process, though Lynch offered no specifics on whether that is the application he had in mind.
His willingness to speak publicly about AI use puts him out ahead of most executives in the league, who tend to guard any operational detail that might reveal competitive advantage. Whether the 49ers' embrace of the technology shows up in their draft results remains to be seen.
