The NFL has made an official decision on whether or not they will change their rule for measuring a first down in 2024.
The league has stuck with rudimentary chain markers over the years despite technological advances, but it has flirted with other methods.
They began testing Sony’s Hawk-Eye tech this preseason, but according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, they will continue with the chain gang for the upcoming season, with the electronic method possibly coming in next year.
“The NFL will not use its electronic system to measure first downs during the regular season this year, source says, after continuing to test it during the preseason,” Maske reported. “It could be used in the regular season as soon as 2025 at the earliest.”
The NFL’s Decision For First Down Rule Isn’t Entirely Surprising
The league had previously hinted that the chain markers would remain for the 2024 campaign, as senior vice president and chief information officer Gary Brantley indicated that the new system was unlikely to launch this year.
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“We’re in the installation phase for all of our stadiums, really getting them calibrated and up to date,” Brantley told the Associated Press. “We’re just really getting to a place where this system is as accurate as possible and really calibrating across our multiple stadiums.”
The technology mentioned above would make decisions much faster as there would be no wait for referees to carry the chains onto the field.
“We’re reducing a significant amount of time, 40 seconds for each time of use that basically is making the game that much more impactful,” Sony president and chief operations officer Neal Manowitz explained. “And then also the system is accurate down to less than half an inch, which is incredibly, incredibly accurate.”
It sounds like Hawk-Eye is definitely coming. However, fans will need to wait at least one more season.
