The NFL will make a 21st century approach to its first down measurement system for the 2025 season, getting rid of the chain gang and instead going with a technology tracking system. The news was ...

NFL first-down measurements are now digital, as America’s biggest sport turns to technology and away from old-school chains.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The NFL is planning to modernize the first down measurement system in 2025, league football operations representatives said on Wednesday. Beginning in the 2025 season ...

According to Kimberly Fields, NFL senior vice president of football operations ... While some camera angles suggested he had reached the first down marker, it wasn’t definitive.

The optimal tracking system notifies officiating instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand. “We used this in the background last season,” said Kimberly Fields, the NFL’s ...

The NFL expects to adopt automated measurement of potential first-down calls in 2025 ... live game officials will continue to spot the football between plays. The physical chains will remain ...

the system notifies officials if a first down was achieved. The Hawk-Eye system received "extensive testing" in 2024, according to Kimberly Fields, NFL senior vice president of football operations.