They won’t be bringing out the chains at NFL games anymore to measure first downs.
The NFL announced Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology will be used as the primary method for measuring whether a football spotted is a first down, beginning with the 2025 season.
Sony’s Hawk-Eye virtual measurement system allows the NFL to accurately and efficiently measure the distance between the spotted ball and the line to gain. The technology, tested extensively last season, will bring a new level of precision and speed to NFL officiating.
“The NFL and Sony are integrating world-class on-field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence,” said Troy Vincent, executive vice president of football operations at the NFL. “Combining the art of officiating with Sony’s trusted Hawk-Eye system is a healthy recipe for success in our commitment to raising the standards of accuracy, consistency and efficiency. Replay technology and data-driven insights from Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations aid us in advancing our efforts toward the future of football.”
Sony’s Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology will serve as an efficient alternative to the process of walking chains onto the field and manually measuring whether 10 yards have been met after the official has spotted the ball. The chain crew will remain on the field in a secondary capacity.
Hawk-Eye, which will be deployed across all 30 NFL stadiums and the international venues hosting NFL games, consists of six 8K cameras for optical tracking of the position of the ball. The system is operated from the NFL’s Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center (AMGC) in New York and is integrated with the league’s existing replay system.
As on-field officials are notified of the measurement outcome, virtual recreations of measurements are produced in real time for the in-stadium and broadcast audience. The full operational process takes around 30 seconds, saving up to 40 seconds from a measurement with the chains.
Sony’s collaboration with the NFL on this technology originated with the league’s adoption of Hawk-Eye’s Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology (SMART) in 2021, a system used to combine video feeds from all of the NFL’s broadcast partners in one place. This allowed replay officials at the stadium and AMGC to synchronize up to four camera angles at one time during a review and select the best option.
In addition to Sony’s virtual measurement technology, during the 2025 season, Sony and the NFL will deploy a new coach’s sideline headset for coach-to-coach communications.
