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Starting next season, a system of cameras will determine whether to award a first down rather than trot out a 10-yard chain. Calls for technology assistance in placing the football grew louder ...

Starting next season, a system of cameras will determine whether to award a first down rather than trot out a 10-yard chain. But humans will still decide where to spot the ball to begin with.

Starting with this year’s football season, the NFL will use Sony’s Hawk-Eye cameras to measure the line to gain — a process the chain crew has done manually for decades. The 8K cameras will ...

Oct 28, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view as NFL referee measures the football for a first down with yard markers during the Arizona Cardinals game against the Green Bay Packers. / Mark ...

Previously, the chain gang came out and measured when the ball was close to the first-down marker. The chain crew will remain on the field, but in a secondary capacity.

While the chain gang will still be there as a secondary option if there are issues with the cameras, Hawk-Eye will now be used to settle first down debated.

Then, all of a sudden, right when we're snapping the ball, they're moving the chains. The chains didn't move until we were snapping the ball. Now, the referee says I signaled first down.

File: The first-down chains are brought out to measure for a first down during the Kansas City Chiefs against the New York Jets on October 26, 2008 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In 2025, the NFL will modernize first-down measurements with Hawk-Eye technology. This move aims to improve accuracy and speed up the game, reducing controversies like those seen in past seasons.

The technology was used during the 2024 NFL preseason. For example, said technology could overturn a call on the field regarding whether a ball-carrier reached the line to gain for a first down.