The NFL has big plans for new technology in 2017, starting with planting microchips in every football.
This move isn’t to help referees or measure the air in footballs, though. Rather, it is a way for the NFL to accumulate more next-gen stats it has never had access to in the past.
Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith broke down the new tech:
The league already puts chips on every player’s shoulder pads for the Next Gen Stats, and having chips in footballs as well will allow teams to track everything from how fast a quarterback throws a football to how well a defensive back moves toward the ball while it’s in the air. Next Gen Stats are closely guarded secrets, with only a tiny portion of them ever becoming public.
This isn’t the first time the NFL has used the technology to help evolve the game. Per the writeup, the league used the same thing on special teams to help figure out if it could narrow the goalposts.
Depending on how this new tech works in 2017, it could be the first step toward chips helping referees make tough calls, especially when it comes to spotting the ball or deciding whether it crossed a goal line.
If the stats aren’t made public, though, it may be hard to know if the tech is working.
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