The NFL announced a new deal with Sony to make the company the league's official technology partner, and part of that partnership is a plan to eliminate -- or at least marginalize -- chain gangs.
Sony will implement its Hawk-Eye technology that can spot the ball within half an inch, and so the NFL will begin using the system this preseason with an eye on league-wide use in 2025.
The Hawk-Eye system is good to go but, the NFL said, it's a matter of retro-fitting all 30 venues with the cameras the technology requires.
“We’re in the installation phase for all of our stadiums, really getting them calibrated and up to date,” NFL senior vice president and chief information officer Gary 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. ... We have multiple stadiums with multiple dimensions inside of those stadiums with different age. So we’re really just going through the installation of putting in the infrastructure and making sure these cameras are installed.”
The cameras are used to track players, officials and the ball, and can notify officials instantly when a first down is achieved. While Brantley noted the technology can optimize game management, it will also make obsolete a hallowed (and time-consuming) piece of football theater: the chain gang trotting onto the field, setting the sticks at the same spot they were on the sidelines, and then the head official peering at the football, then dramatically approximating for the crowd the distance from ball to stick with his index fingers, or emphatically pointing toward one end zone or the other to signal which team either maintained or gained possession after a 4th-and-short attempt.
“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 COO Neal Manowitz said. “And then also the system is accurate down to less than half an inch, which is incredibly, incredibly accurate. Hopefully the fans appreciate the objective view, or at least half the fans each play will be appreciating it.”
The old system will remain in place as a backup. A set of tall, bright-orange sticks will still be useful for coaches, players, and onlookers to see the line-to-gain.
In addition to its ball-spotting system, Sony will be the NFL's official source of coaches' headsets while also supplying support for sideline photography, broadcast cameras, and television production.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.