NFL to test Sony's Hawk-Eye tracking system for line-to-gain situations during preseason

Some new technology is being injected into the NFL

We may soon no longer need Gene Steratore's index card to determine the line to gain in the NFL. On Wednesday, the league announced a partnership with Sony to make the company the official technology partner of the NFL. That comes with new official headsets that coaches will wear on the sideline beginning in 2025, but it also brings some possible innovation to the "chain gang." 

Sony's Hawk-Eye tracking services are being developed to bring "state-of-art line-to-gain optical tracking technology to review and make critical ruling on plays, helping to achieve the highest level of integrity for the game." 

NFL executive Gary Brantley told The Associated Press that the league will begin testing that Hawk-Eye technology during some preseason games. 

"We're in the installation phase for all of our stadiums, really getting them calibrated and up to date," said Brantley, via ESPN. "We're just really getting to a place where this system is as accurate as possible and really calibrating across our multiple stadiums. ... We have multiple stadiums with multiple dimensions inside of those stadiums with different age. So, we're really just going through the installation of putting in the infrastructure and making sure these cameras are installed."

Currently, the NFL uses two orange sticks that are connected to a chain to measure first downs. While possibly looked at as archaic, it's been effective for the most part throughout the game's history but has gone through some miscues from time to time. Even if the Hawk-Eye technology does take over, however, the method would remain in a backup capacity. 

The effort to bring in this new technology would further speed up the game and make plays more precise. 

"We're reducing a significant amount of time, 40 seconds for each time of use that basically is making the game that much more impactful," Sony president and chief operations officer Neal Manowitz said. "And then also the system is accurate down to less than half an inch, which is incredibly, incredibly accurate. Hopefully the fans appreciate the objective view, or at least half the fans each play will be appreciating it."

It is not yet specified which preseason exhibitions will be the test games for this new technology.