Out with the old, in with the new?
The NFL will toy with innovation this season, testing the idea that electronic first-down markers could replace the human-led first-down chains.
While the testing of the idea will get some experimental usage this year, the league is not expected to roll it out league-wide before the 2025 NFL season.
Per Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, this innovative idea intends to give officials, coaches, and players a more accurate read on ball placement and potentially cutting down on review time.
“The testing has used technology developed by Hawk-Eye, the computer vision system that assists with video replays in tennis, to precisely determine the position of the ball and players during replay reviews,” according to David Smith.
With the way technology and artificial intelligence shape our world, this innovation could help the sport for years to come. We shall see if the NFL will embrace this idea in 2024 to become a full-fledged launch in 2025.
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