Football Fans Want to Know Why NFL Footballs Have Chips in Them

If you've ever wondered why the NFL footballs have chips in them, you are not alone. The chips have been used in NFL footballs since 2017, and as the latest football season continues to hold the attention of sports fans, they are also curious about the football chips.

According to NBC Sports, the football league previously used chips in practice footballs to see what would change if the goal posts were narrowed, but why are they used now?

According to the NFL, the footballs have chips in them to collect data. Adam Petrus from Zebra Technology shared how the technology works back in 2023. The company makes the RFID tracking software used by the NFL, as well as universities.

Adam explained that every NFL stadium has a set of receivers installed that point at the field, and each player wears two or more RFID tags — which are the size of a nickel — under their shoulder pads to track their movements.

“We’re able to track their movement from the very end of the back line to the end of the end zone," he said. "And so every movement is picked up by our active RFID system and we’re able to then, in real time, collect that data."

The chips can produce statistics such as how many revolutions a football makes per minute, as well as measuring the football's rotation. The chips can also measure players' acceleration, the speed at which players make cuts, and how long it takes to release the football.

"The NFL is collecting all this data, and then post-game, they generate a report," he added. "It used to be that each team would receive their own data, now the NFL allows every team to have every team’s data."

The NFL also uses Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement system, per ESPN. Troy Vincent, the executive vice president of football operations in the NFL, said the system uses cameras to track the ball's position on the field.

"The NFL and Sony are integrating world-class on-field officiating with state-of-the-art technology to advance football excellence," he said.

"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," he added. "Replay technology and data-driven insights from Sony's Hawk-Eye Innovations aid us in advancing our efforts toward the future of football."

The Hawk-Eye system is used to notify the officials on the field of the measurements in real-time for the audience in about 30 seconds.

The NFL said in a press release that the system is used 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."

While the technology is changing how things are done quickly, the traditional chain crews are still utilized as a backup in NFL games.