ALT nflfastR 6.0.0 CRAN release: 2026-09-18 New Added new function update_pbp_db(), a fresh approach to the database helper. (#544) Breaking changes and deprecation nflfastR stopped supporting the 1999 and 2000 seasons because of inconsistent data sources. Data is still available through load_pbp() but we will not fix any issues related to those old seasons anymore. It’s possible to install nflfastR v5.2.0 (with pak::pak("nflverse/[email protected]")) to parse those seasons if necessary. (#568) nflfastR now loads raw play-by-play data from season based releases in the nflverse/nflverse-pbp GitHub repository. The legacy repository nflverse/nflfastR-raw is deprecated and won’t update in future seasons. This means that previous nflfastR versions won’t be able to download 2026+ seasons! (#589) The legacy player stats functions calculate_player_stats*() have been deprecated in 2024 with the release of nflfastR 5.0. They are now defunct and calling them will throw an error. (#590)

ALT Minor changes and improvements Added "game_id" to the output calculate_stats() if summary_level == "week". (#566) Fixed a bug where fixed_drive did not increment after a muffed blocked field goal attempt. Yes this happened in "2025_10_NO_CAR", play id 2504. (#567) Implemented a fresh approach to compute play_type based on play_type_nfl for faster and more consistent output. (#568) Fixed a bug where nflfastR overwrote the kickoff_attempt variable in the event of a penalty on a kickoff. (#569) Added various definitions of ‘explosive’ plays to the output of calculate_stats(). It counts passes, runs, and receptions with 10+, 20+, 40+ yards gained as well as 12+ yard runs and 16+ yard passes. (#573) Added several punting stats to the output of calculate_stats(). (#574) Added overall fumble counters to the output of calculate_stats() because it was missing some edge case fumbles on offense. (#575) The play_type variable now possibly shows "pass" or "run" on 2 point conversion plays with a po