You are currently viewing NFL to trial AI and tennis-style ‘Hawk-Eye’ technology that could cut controversial calls and make key job obsolete

NFL to trial AI and tennis-style ‘Hawk-Eye’ technology that could cut controversial calls and make key job obsolete

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Artificial intelligence may soon be taking over the NFL.

The league has been experimenting with a new technology that may find the traditional chain-gang to be obsolete in the near future.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 26: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills dives for a first down during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.  (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The Chiefs-Bills AFC championship had a controversy fourth-down spot that turned the tide in the game
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The new technology is Sony’s Hawk-Eye.

And while technically it isn’t ‘new,’ as tennis has been using it for years, it would be for the NFL.

The technology helps gauge whether or not a ball is in or out of bounds, re-creating the play in an animated graphic that makes it very simple for the viewers to see and understand.

It’s very black and white.

There’s no grey area.

The ball either hit inbounds or it didn’t.

That is what the NFL is trying to replicate.

The league experimented with the technology in the preseason of this year to test it out.

That included using up to 60 cameras in the stadium which helped piece together every angle possible on every play and used feeds from six cameras with 8k resolution to give a clean picture.

This system tracked the ball from start to finish, with the help of artificial intelligence, to determine whether or not it traveled the necessary 10 yards for a first down.

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The Hawk-Eye technology has made the game of tennis much more accurate and quicker[/caption]

KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 26: Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott talks with a sideline official in the second quarter of the AFC Championship game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs on January 26, 2025 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott wasn’t too happy with the officiating in the AFC championship
Getty

It would be a massive change to the game if the league decides to implement the technology going forward.

Those in and around the league believe the time is now for the NFL to make the change.

“We did a lot of due diligence with the NFL to make sure that we’ve chosen the right cameras and the right placement of the cameras to make sure that our accuracy was where it needed to be,” said Dan Cash, managing director of Sony’s Hawk-Eye.

NFL Deputy Chief Information Officer Aaron Amendolia said Hawk-Eye will help the game go by faster by eliminating the need to bring out the chain every time a spot is close.

“We’re going to get much more accurate on what we’re showing as far as measurements, but we’re also going to have a faster-moving game,” Amendolia said.

“We need to have the right results and when we do, we’ll scale it up and out.”

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Fred Gaudelli, the executive producer of “NFL on NBC,” suggested that using this new technology would make for a better TV-viewing experience and product.

“As attention spans become shorter and people have more distractions in life, the quicker you can get things done and get to a final answer. I think it’s better for the broadcast and it’s better for the audience,” Gaudelli said.

Whether or not the NFL makes the permanent change is yet to be decided.

They will once again be using the technology in the preseason next year, but anything beyond that is anyone’s guess.

What we do know, is that it would have been helpful to have in the AFC-championship over the controversial spot that the officials and replay assist gave Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on fourth-down that swung the game in the Kansas City Chiefs favor.

Allen looked to have crossed the first-down marker, but it was ultimately to close to call, and the ruling on the field was that he was short.

With Hawk-Eye technology implemented, there would have been no question whether or not the ball got across the first down marker.

That moment alone should make the NFL think long and hard about moving on from the outdated chain-gang and into the future with the advanced-tech necessary.

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