Cynthia Frelund (born August 24, 1982) is an American television sports analyst and writer currently working for NFL Network, the broadcasting arm of the National Football League, and as a sideline reporter for the NFL's Buffalo Bills. A specialist in predictive analysis, Frelund has worked previously for ESPN and the NFL's League Office.
Cynthia Frelund was born August 24, 1982, in Okemos, Michigan.[1] She is a graduate of Okemos High School,[2] where she lettered in soccer and volleyball.[3] She grew up as a fan of the National Football League (NFL) and the star running back of the Detroit Lions, Barry Sanders.[1]
After graduation from high school, Frelund enrolled in Boston College, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 2005.[1] Thereafter she enrolled in Northwestern University, from which she graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree in finance, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.[1] She also holds a Master of Science degree in Predictive Analysis from Northwestern.[1]
Following the end of her collegiate studies, Frelund worked for three years as a financial analyst.[4] From there she was hired by the league office of the NFL, where she held a position working as an analyst for the NFL's Chief Financial Officer, Anthony Noto.[3]
While at the league office, Frelund worked on projects like studying the potential costs and benefits of moving away from a schedule of four preseason games and 16 regular season games to a split of two and 18, the viability of moving a team to Los Angeles, and suggesting adaptations to the league's rookie pay scale.[3]
After leaving the league office, Frelund worked as a Predictive Analytics specialist for ESPN for nearly four years.[3]
In August 2016 Frelund left ESPN to take a position with her current primary employer, NFL Network.[2] She has worked for NFL Network in a range of high-profile positions, including frequent appearances on such shows as NFL Fantasy Live and NFL GameDay Morning.[2] She also writes a column called "Game Theory" for the NFL's official website.
In a 2018 interview with the Detroit Free Press, Frelund described her role as a sports journalist as "using analytics and combining that with information I gather from watching film, talking to people around the NFL, and former players I work with to come up with ways to help fans see the game through a different lens."[3]
In the same interview, Frelund was careful to make a distinction between sports statistics and analytics:
In conjunction with her job, Frelund makes use of computer modeling, writing her own code to generate thousands of simulations of each game, from which predictions can be derived.[3]
Since 2021 Frelund has also worked as a sideline reporter on the preseason telecasts of the NFL's Buffalo Bills.[5] At the time of her hiring, Mark Preisler, executive vice president of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, producer of the preseason telecasts, called Frelund a "rising star" and noted his company's desire to "get away from a typical sideline reporter" in favor of making use of an expert to add in-game commentary about "next gen stats and trends."[5]
Frelund's association with the Bills was slated to continue throughout the 2021 season with at least one appearance a week on the team's One Bills Live program.[5]
Frelund is a certified Pilates and Group Fitness Instructor, gaining her credential in 2005.[1]
