Why Doesn't the NFL Use Tracking Technology for First-Down Calls? - New York Times

The N.F.L. has already put a chip in the ball. As of this season, each game ball has a nickel-size chip made by Zebra Technologies that gathers data on the speed and flight of the ball. The chips, which are used by coaches and analysts to evaluate player performance, weigh about 4 grams. The ball is about 400 grams.

The chips aren’t used by referees to spot the ball, which is a bigger technological challenge.

John Pollard, vice president for business development at Zebra, said “further development would be needed to tune the level of accuracy to support needs like first-down measurements and goal-line calls.”

The chips provide advanced data but aren’t designed to pinpoint the ball’s exact location, Brian McCarthy, an N.F.L. spokesman, said in an email on Monday.

They are accurate to within six inches of the ball, which wouldn’t help when the most contentious calls come down to much smaller distances.

“We are always looking for ways to responsibly incorporate the latest technology into all facets of the game,” he wrote. “For a number of years we have considered various potential first-down measurement technologies but have not found one to date that we were comfortable with to deploy.”

Other sports have used similar technology for years. The United States Open was the first major tennis tournament to use Hawk-Eye technology, in 2006, and it has largely won over traditionalists. Most tennis tournaments use it, though the French Open does not, and television viewers can rapidly see whether balls land in or out.

The World Cup began using GoalControl technology in the 2014 men’s tournament. Fourteen cameras monitor the goal line, and watches worn by referees flash the word “Goal” within a second of the ball crossing the line.

But the N.F.L. has challenges other sports don’t face. A Hawk-Eye spokesman told ESPN in 2015 that the cluster of players around first-down and goal-line plays could make its system useless because 25 percent of the ball must be clearly visible for it to work. Hawk-Eye did not respond to a message seeking comment.

For now, the human element will live on. Though some Raiders said they thought there was space between the paper and the yardstick, Steratore denied that and said the paper was used to back up his decision.

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“Didn’t use the card to make the final decision,” he told a pool reporter. “The ball was touching the pole. I put the card in there, and as soon as it touched, it was nothing more than a reaffirmation.”

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