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Given the amount of technology the NFL is able to take advantage of in this day and age, it’s pretty absurd the league is still relying on a physical chain to determine whether or not a team earned a first down. However, there’s a chance that’s no longer the case when the 2024 season kicks off.
The first-down chain has been a staple of football games for more than 100 years, and while the sport has come a very long way since the dawn of the 20th century, officials still rely on that wildly antiquated measuring method to determine if teams gained enough yards to earn a new set of downs.
There isn’t a single moment that highlights the absurdity of that approach quite like the time Gene Steratore pulled out an index card to finalize a ruling during a game between the Raiders and the Cowboys in 2017. That probably should’ve been the catalyst for a reconsideration of the status quo, but it took the NFL a while to seriously weigh some other options.
Earlier this year, the UFL gave us a glimpse at the future when it eschewed the traditional chain gang in favor of the “TrU Line Technology” it adopted for its inaugural season, and the NFL also experimented with optical tracking during the 2023 campaign even though the physical approach was still the norm.
However, it sounds like that may not be the case once the 2024 season gets underway.
According to CBS Sports, the NFL has approved a plan that will see optical first-down tracking rolled out in every single stadium ahead of the upcoming slate of preseason games (it ran pilot programs last year at MetLife and Hard Rock in addition to Super Bowl LVIII).
If things go smoothly, the technology could become the primary measuring method as soon as the regular season gets underway. However, the outlet notes the chain gang will still have a physical presence on the sidelines to both provide a point of reference and serve as a backup if something goes awry.