You know the feeling. You’re watching an NFL game and a player pushes forward for a crucial first down. Maybe he got it. Maybe he didn’t. You won’t know for sure until a middle-aged man fully unfurls his chain and the entire world can see whether the tip of the ball reached the first down marker or not.
It appears, however, that when it comes to the NFL at least, those moments are no more.
While the Tush Push might be here to stay (at least for now), the NFL did approve at least some rule changes during the league’s Owners Meetings in Florida this week. But with all due respect to each team now being guaranteed a possession in overtime during the regular season and the 10 extra yards that have been added to touchbacks, perhaps no rule change possesses the potential to impact the way we view games more than the elimination of the chain gang in favor of an electronic line to gain measurement system.
To be clear, a chain crew will remain on the field for each NFL game in a secondary capacity, presumably in the event that there are technical issues with the line to gain system. Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology will be deployed to “accurately and efficiently measure the distance between the spotted ball and the line to gain,” similar to the system that the United Football League is using this season, albeit with a different provider.
“The NFL and Sony are integrating world-class on-field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence,” the NFL’s EVP of football operations, Troy Vincent, said in a statement. “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.”
The NFL’s move to such a system for line to gain measurements has appeared inevitable in recent years, with the league experimenting with the technology during last year’s preseason before opting not to implement it for the 2024 campaign after receiving mixed results. It’s unclear what (if anything) changed since then, but whatever it was, the league now appears comfortable making such a seismic shift.
Ultimately, technology is coming for us all, whether it’s the inevitability of robot umpires in baseball or the author of this story one day being replaced by AI. For now, it appears it was the chain gang’s turn to succumb to our technological advances, leaving us to savor those previous, anxiety-riddled moments that previously shaped our football viewing experiences.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.