Just before the start of the NFL preseason, there is an urgent need to talk about an outdated rule. Comment.

There’s a saying in the NFL that sums up well the very small margin for error and high level of competitiveness: “It’s a game of inches.”

A game of every inch. Punt or new first down? Turnover on downs or touchdown? Victory or defeat? A game likes to dance on a knife edge and can be thrown out of rhythm by potential bad decisions.

For years, the NFL has invested in modernisation measures to increase fairness in a race for unachievable perfection. Cameras record game situations from as many angles as possible in the best possible resolution, external referee crews analyse every play, tablets and television images offer immediate reaction options on the sidelines.

NFL holds on to relic from its stone age

Besides all the high-tech, however, a relic from the NFL Stone Age can still be found on the sidelines. The Chain Crew, with its 10-yard chain indicating the beginning and end of the line to gain that the offense still has to cover to reach a new first down.

Now, some tradition-minded football fans will no doubt point out the 100+ year history of the Chain Gang and their equipment, but should tradition take a backseat to fairness?

The referee crew must determine the position of the ball within a split second, sometimes buried by offensive linemen, defenders and a ball carrier.

NFL should take a cue from the USFL

So the infamous sense of proportion decides. In tricky situations, the Chain Gang rushes onto the turf with their rattle rack of chains and poles to determine (supposedly) to the centimetre described at the beginning of this article whether a first down has been achieved.

In 2017, for example, the situation arose in the billion-dollar NFL that a piece of paper could determine victory or defeat.

That was SO CLOSE pic.twitter.com/oGFMdByTBt

– SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) December 18, 2017

For years, technologies have existed in football or tennis that can show the position of the ball with pinpoint accuracy and in real time. Other leagues are also experimenting with high-tech in football: the USFL uses a chip in the football to place the ball and already relies on the technology in its games.

The technology in the @USFL is elite! pic.twitter.com/WbJ2RRIhKH

– Memphis Showboats (@USFLShowboats) April 15, 2023

Naturally, the NFL would also have to be allowed a margin for error, the implementation of new technologies always carries certain risk factors. Nevertheless, the way football’s position in the NFL is determined needs to be reconsidered. For more fairness and so that every inch really does count.