The NFL will not measure first downs electronically this season

Author of the article:

Washington Post

Mark Maske, The Washington Post

Published Aug 27, 2024  •  2 minute read

The NFL declined to remove some of the referees' guesswork when it comes to first downs. Photo by Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post

The NFL will not utilize its electronic system to measure first downs during the 2024 regular season, a person familiar with the league’s planning on the issue said Monday.

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The league continued to test the system during the just-completed preseason and had left open the possibility of using it during this regular season. Instead, the system will go into regular season use in 2025 at the earliest, according to the person with knowledge of the situation.

The sticks-and-chain system for measuring first downs is not being retired – at least not yet. The 10-yard chains will remain the primary means for determining first downs this season. They also are expected to remain on the sidelines at least as a backup system even after the electronic system for measuring first downs goes into regular season use.

The 2024 regular season begins Sept. 5 with the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, hosting the Baltimore Ravens in the traditional Thursday night opener.

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NFL officials had previously said the electronic system would go into regular season use when they deemed it ready, likely either this year or in 2025. They wanted to make certain they could utilize the system efficiently in all NFL stadiums and in international venues hosting other games.

The human element will remain in the first-down process even when the electronic system receives the go-ahead for regular season use, given that the ball still will be spotted manually by on-field officials at the conclusion of each play. There will be no use of a chip in the football, for example, to determine electronically whether a runner reached the first-down spot.

But once the ball has been spotted with the electronic system in use, a measurement will be conducted virtually in the NFL’s officiating center in New York, utilizing optical tracking cameras. The line-to-gain software can precisely calculate the football’s position on the field and determine whether it reached the point necessary to gain a first down.

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The NFL has said it tested optical tracking camera technology for line-to-gain rulings last season at games in Miami Gardens, Fla., and East Rutherford, N.J., and at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

That testing continued during the preseason this year. Some observers complained about the amount of time taken to make first-down decisions with the electronic system.

The NFL’s team owners are scheduled to gather Tuesday at a Minneapolis-area hotel for a one-day special league meeting at which they may vote on allowing investments into franchises by private equity firms.

The owners are not expected to vote Tuesday on seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady’s proposed deal for part ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to the person with knowledge of the league’s planning. That deal remains pending before the NFL finance committee and could come up for an approval vote by the owners at their October meeting.

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