Tech Talk: From AI to 8K cameras, NFL leans on technology to reshape the game

On today’s NFL sidelines, whistles and clipboards now share space with artificial intelligence, ultra-high-definition cameras, and real-time data streams, as the league accelerates its push to use advanced technology to improve officiating, sharpen strategy, and make the game safer for players.

From replay reviews to player safety, the NFL is increasingly leaning on advanced technology — including artificial intelligence (AI) — to enhance how the game is played, officiated, and coached.

At the center of those efforts is Hawk-Eye Innovations’ Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology, known as the SMART system, which combines every available broadcast camera angle of a play into a single platform. Replay officials can review multiple angles at the same time, helping them make faster and more accurate decisions.

The league installed the SMART system ahead of the 2021-22 season at Art McNally GameDay Central in New York and in replay booths at stadiums across the league. Officials on site and league staff in New York can now review plays simultaneously throughout games and during replay challenges.

The system relies on cameras operated by the NFL’s broadcast partners, which are positioned throughout stadiums on game day. Hawk-Eye collects and synchronizes every broadcast angle of every play and sends the video — using Cisco technology — to both the stadium replay booth and GameDay Central in real time.

To speed the process, the league works with broadcast partners to create preset views that quickly pull up the four best angles for common rulings and specific areas of the field. During a replay review, officials can send up to four synchronized angles directly to a tablet used by the referee on the field.

Technology is reshaping how teams coach and make decisions during games

Starting in 2025, sideline and coaches’ booth devices were upgraded to Surface Copilot+ PCs, offering faster performance, longer battery life, and built-in AI capabilities. AI-powered filtering allows players and coaches to quickly locate key moments in real time, reducing manual searches and highlighting pivotal plays such as scoring drives, turnovers, and penalties.

In coaches’ booths, club analysts use a Microsoft 365 Copilot-powered Excel dashboard to identify trends and insights more quickly, including personnel groupings and snap counts that can influence in-game strategy.

The league tightly controls how the tablets are used. Devices are distributed before each game, configured without internet access or app installation, and collected immediately after the game ends.

On the field, the NFL continues to expand its use of tracking data. Since 2014, players have worn radio-frequency identification transmitters developed by Zebra Technologies inside their shoulder pads. Receivers installed throughout stadiums collect real-time data on player speed, distance, and location. Similar RFID transmitters placed inside game balls track movement and performance.

The league is also testing technology aimed at improving player safety. Sensors embedded in mouthguards use accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure the force, direction, and location of head impacts. That data can be transmitted wirelessly to sideline devices, allowing medical staff to assess potential injuries more quickly.

Officiating has also gone digital. The NFL has implemented a virtual measurement system using Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology to determine the line to gain. Six 8K cameras installed in every stadium provide real-time 3D tracking of the ball, replacing traditional chain measurements with a more precise and efficient process. The system is operated remotely from GameDay Central and is integrated into both replay review and broadcast coverage.

League officials say the growing use of technology is designed to improve accuracy, consistency, and safety — while preserving the integrity of the game.

As the NFL continues to test and deploy new tools, artificial intelligence and advanced tracking are becoming as much a part of Sundays as whistles and scoreboards.

Follow Luke Duecy on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.