This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Since its early years, the NFL has emphasized fan engagement and accessibility. Innovations such as “Monday Night Football” and Super Bowl halftime shows have helped the league surpass baseball as the nation’s most popular sport.
Now the NFL and several teams are trying to enhance the fan experience by making their websites more accessible for people with disabilities which may include vision, hearing and developmental or cognitive impairments.
Over the past two months, several NFL teams including the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants have announced their intent to implement relevant portions of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0 AA) as their web accessibility standard.
Implementing the WCAG 2.0 AA standards as set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) will also bring the clubs into further conformance with the Section 508 Web Accessibility Standards developed by the United States Access Board.
The teams plan to use the NFL’s accessibility consultant, the National Center for Accessible Media to audit their websites and provide recommendations for making them compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA standards. The Center is also providing the league’s web development team with periodic training about WCAG 2.0 AA and Section 508 conformance.
In addition, the teams have adopted website accessibility policies in support of their commitment to the program. They will test their sites periodically using assistive technology such as screen readers and magnifiers and with users with disabilities.
In October 2015, the NFL said it planned to implement portions of the WCAG 2.0 AA standards over time. The league said it would conduct periodic accessibility audits and end-user accessibility testing and evaluations of NFL.com.
Onix is also committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities and helping organizations create accessible web content. Its automated software Equidox makes PDF to HTML conversions and PDF Accessibility easy.
Onix also recently launched PDF Conversion Services, empowering your organization to outsource the cumbersome task of converting inaccessible PDFs into WCAG 2.0 AA-compliant HTML and accessible PDF and EPUB 2 content to the Onix team of experts.
Tammy Albee
Tammy Albee | Director of Marketing | Equidox Tammy joined Equidox after four years of experience working at the National Federation of the Blind. She firmly maintains that accessibility is about reaching everyone, regardless of ability, and boosting your market share in the process. "Nobody should be barred from accessing information. It's what drives our modern society."