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Digital measurement of first downs may be in the NFL's future, but it looks like we won't be seeing chains and markers off the field anytime soon.
Jeff Miller, the NFL's vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, told The Athletic's Mike Jones that digital measurement technology “is not ready yet.”
“I think it's an idea that's due, we've looked at it and we're not ready yet,” Miller told Jones.
NFL executives have experimented with digitally counting first downs during the preseason, but Jones reported that the technology will not be implemented during the 2024 regular season.
The digital tracking system won't be implemented during the regular season until “2025 at the earliest,” Mark Maske wrote in The Washington Post earlier this week.
This is a step back from an original timeline, when CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones wrote in May that digital tracking would be used during the 2024 season “if the pilot goes well.”
The new system was introduced during preseason action between the Detroit Lions and New York Giants on Aug. 8, when a review of a gain that did not result in a first down caused a delay of several minutes (via Awful Announcing ).
Jordan Raanan @JordanRaanan
New laser technology replaces chains that come onto the field to measure first downs. pic.twitter.com/cGCzb6AMWI
The digital tracking relies on “Hawk-Eye” technology currently used in tennis to determine whether the ball is in or out. Michael David Smith This was previously reported by NBC Sports.
The technology, which is being used at the U.S. Open, uses high-resolution cameras to capture hundreds of images of the ball per second, which allows for an instant assessment of the ball's position on the line, according to CNBC's Sydney Boyo.
NFL executive Gary Brantley told The Associated Press' Rob Murdy in July that the league was in the “installation phase” of adding these cameras to stadiums.
“We have multiple stadiums of different sizes, some of which are different ages,” Brantley said in July, “so we're working on making sure we have the infrastructure in place and the cameras in place.”
If the new system goes into effect, the NFL plans to continue using chains and markers on the sidelines “as a backup for measurement and as a visual indicator of line gain and the location of the line of scrimmage,” ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and Chris Lim reported in June.
The NFL named Sony, the developer of the Hawk-Eye system, as the league's official technology partner in July. As Jacob Feldman previously reported for Sportico, the league plans to introduce digital first-down tracking as well as new Sony communications headsets for coaches during the 2025 season.
