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NFL Is Changing The Way It Measures First Downs

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Apr 1, 2025 4:27 PM ET

The 2025 NFL offseason could go down as one of the most influential on the league's rulebook in a very long time.

Mere hours after the NFL announced changes to its kickoff and overtime rules, the league is now making an historic change in first down measurement. According to ESPN, the method of spotting a ball and the first down marker will change from a "chain gang" measurement to camera-based technology.

The "chain gang" - the men who hold the down markers and measure it - will remain on hand in "a secondary capacity."

"Breaking: The method for measuring first downs in the NFL will switch from chain gangs to camera-based technology in 2025, the league announced. The traditional chain crew will remain on the sidelines in a secondary capacity," the outlet reported.

Breaking: The method for measuring first downs in the NFL will switch from chain gangs to camera-based technology in 2025, the league announced.

The traditional chain crew will remain on the sidelines in a secondary capacity. pic.twitter.com/7UuXMV1Fdx
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 1, 2025

NFL fans are widely applauding the decision, stating that the change is long overdue. Others feel that the chain gang isn't the problem, but the method of spotting the ball is.

"we have a new entry in the best/easiest jobs in the NFL: 1. backup QB 2. backup chain gang," one user joked.

"Very few more suspenseful/exciting moments in a football game than when the game is on the line and they break out the chains and it’s 4th and inches and the rush you get when you see they’re going for it. Technology takes the life out of everything."

"Old men trotting out on the field to see if we got a first down or not is half of the fun. Debating the spot of the ball won’t hit the same anymore. Drone refs by 2030."

"Long post but this is just the measurement part of the process, taking the chains into the field to measure. Bills probably still don’t get a first down because of this."

The tradition of the chain gang and the entertainment that they present is an entirely separate matter. As for the impact on the game, fans might be onto something when they point out that the spotting, not the marking, is what makes and breaks games.

What kind of impact do you think the change will have on the NFL?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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