In the NFL, the days of the chain gang could soon be numbered. The league is testing a technique for determining first downs in the preseason that has been used in tennis for years

There could be a technical break in the NFL as early as next year.

This was announced by Gary Brantley, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the National Football League.

Specifically, it is about determining whether a play has resulted in a new first down or not.

“We’re in the installation phase for all of our stadiums to calibrate and update them,” Brantley told the AP news agency. “We’re in the process of making the system as accurate as possible and calibrating it in all of our stadiums.”

According to the report, the Hawkeye will already signal to the referees in some preseason games in the coming season when a new first down has been reached. The system has been used successfully in tennis, for example, for many years.

The technology could also be used in the NFL to make close decisions quickly and save a lot of time.

Until now, an antique-looking tool has been used in such situations – in the world’s highest-revenue sports league. A crew, known as the Chain Gang, then comes onto the field and uses a chain to measure whether the required ten yards have been reached.

If the Hawkeye technology proves to be reliable in the test phase, it could be used in full as early as the 2025 season.