NFL chain gang benched: Sony 8K cameras will track first downs this season
After testing the technology last year, the NFL says it will switch to cameras for measuring first downs during football games in the 2025-2026 season.
🏈 The NFL and Sony are shaking things up this football season
🎥 The league will now use 8K cameras to measure first downs
⛓️ The chain gang will still sit on the sideline, but won’t be utilized nearly as often
⌚️ According to the NFL, the new Hawk-Eye system is about 40 seconds faster
📅 The change was first tested during the 2024 preseason
Football fans, we have some major news: the NFL chain gang is being benched.
Today, the NFL and Sony announced that the latter’s 8K cameras will be used for measuring first downs during the 2025 season. The Hawk-Eye system, which is already in use at the NFL to combine broadcast feeds during games, was tested last year during preseason. It’s a big shake-up to a decades-old tradition of watching referees drag out huge posts with chains to measure where the ball landed on the field.
Sony’s Hawk-Eye system relies on six 8K cameras for optical tracking of where the ball is located on the field. The footage is sent to New York where the NFL’s officiating team determines where it’s positioned, all while virtual recreations of the measurements are played out for both in-person and broadcast audiences. On-field refs are notified of where the ball landed, and it’s then announced.
The entire process takes around 30 seconds, according to the NFL, which is roughly 40 seconds less than the amount of time it takes to drag out the chains and measure the ball’s position manually. The new system will be deployed to all 30 NFL stadiums this season, in addition to a new coach’s sideline headset for coach-to-coach communications.
"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 VP 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."
As for the chain gang itself, it’s not technically going anywhere. The NFL says that physical chains will be used in a secondary capacity on the field, but officials will primarily rely on Hawk-Eye to determine whether a team has reached the first down marker.
Max Buondonno is Editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
