Sony's Hawk-Eye technology will be used by the National Football League as the primary method for measuring the line to gain, beginning with the 2025 season.
Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement system allows the NFL to accurately and efficiently measure the distance between the spotted ball and the line to gain. The technology, tested extensively last season, will bring a new level of precision and speed to NFL officiating.
"The NFL and Sony are integrating world-class on-field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence," said Troy Vincent, executive vice president of football operations at the NFL. "Combining the art of officiating with Sony's trusted Hawk-Eye system is a healthy recipe for success in our commitment to raising the standards of accuracy, consistency and efficiency. Replay technology and data-driven insights from Sony's Hawk-Eye Innovations aid us in advancing our efforts toward the future of football."
Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology will serve as an efficient alternative to the process of walking chains onto the field and manually measuring whether 10 yards have been met after the official has spotted the ball. The chain crew will remain on the field in a secondary capacity.
Hawk-Eye, which will be deployed across all 30 NFL stadiums and the international venues hosting NFL games, consists of six 8K cameras for optical tracking of the position of the ball. The system is operated from the NFL's Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center (AMGC) in New York and is integrated with the league's existing replay system.
As on-field officials are notified of the measurement outcome, virtual recreations of measurements are produced in real time for the in-stadium and broadcast audience. The full operational process takes around 30 seconds, saving up to 40 seconds from a measurement with the chains.
Sony's collaboration with the NFL on this technology originated with the league's adoption of Hawk-Eye's Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology (SMART) in 2021, a system used to combine video feeds from all of the NFL's broadcast partners in one place. This allowed replay officials at the stadium and AMGC to synchronize up to four camera angles at one time during a review and select the best option.
Sony's Hawk-Eye partners with 23 of the top 25 global sports leagues and is a core and critical officiating technology partner at several tentpole global sporting events, including soccer, tennis Grand Slams, cricket major tournaments and the Rugby World Cup. Sony proudly works to power a more accurate, fairer experience for athletes, coaches and officials, and provide an objective view to the billions of fans watching around the world.
"We have always been passionate about working with the leading global sports to pioneer change. Our ultimate ambition is to make sports fairer, safer and more engaging," said Rufus Hack, CEO of Hawk-Eye, Pulselive at Beyond Sports. "We're incredibly excited to extend our partnership with the NFL on the important virtual measurement initiative, to continue to enhance the game for players, officials and most importantly fans."
"Sony's longstanding relationship with the NFL is built upon our joint desire to innovate and bring audiences closer to the action, and Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement system further activates on those commitments," said Neal Manowitz, president and COO of Sony Electronics, North America. "We look forward to providing more excitement to passionate fans as we help transform the game in ways that are only possible through the power of creativity and technology."
Sony is a technology partner of the NFL and has long provided the league with innovations that elevate the game and foster engagement for fans. Sony's virtual measurement solution expands this relationship, as it helps to modernize the game.
In addition to Sony's virtual measurement technology, during the 2025 season, Sony and the NFL will deploy a new coach's sideline headset for coach-to-coach communications.
