NFL News: League to Use Electronic System Tryout for First Down Measurements By Grant Winsauer

According to Ari Meirov, the NFL will try an electronic system to measure first downs.

The trial, set to unfold during the highly anticipated preseason, holds the potential to revolutionize the game. If successful, referees will adopt this cutting-edge electronic system for the NFL season, with the manual chains serving as a reliable backup plan should any unforeseen circumstances arise. 

This is an excellent idea because sometimes people watch games, and the first down needs to be measured. But then you see a player on the opposing team move the ball back/forward, and the refs don’t notice. The team gets the first down when they shouldn’t have, or the opposing team gets the ball when they shouldn’t.

If this electronic system works out, it will be great for many reasons. First, we will get the call faster and won’t wait as long. Second, it will eliminate players' ability to move the ball before it is measured because the system will most likely record everything. Everything seems electronic now, so why not keep up with that trend?

This idea will work out for the NFL, with plenty of advantages. But if something happens with the system and they don’t implement it for the 2024 NFL season (I doubt that will happen), we will still have the regular chains as a backup plan. We are used to it right now, so no matter what happens, it is not that big of a change, but it will be something to look out for during the preseason to see if it works well.