The NFL is going high-tech with its game balls. The league will move forward by implementing a chip-equipped game ball for all upcoming 2016 NFL pre-season and all Thursday night regular season games including Dallas at Minnesota on Dec. 1.
The chip program, according to the Toronto Sun, is designed to track specific on-field elements of the kicking game, extra-point efficiency, goal-line play and more. If all goes as planned, the data acquired could eventually lead to narrower goal posts.
Kickers made 84.5 percent of their field-goal attempts in 2015 – the second-highest conversion rate in NFL history, per ESPN.
NFL Insider Kevin Seifert writes that all 32 NFL teams were informed of the league’s chip-implementation plans and some veteran quarterbacks were concerned about the feel and performance of a chip ball versus a traditional NFL football.
From last night: NFL finalizing plans to experiment with data chips in all footballs used in preseason + TNF games https://t.co/6Gh1HtTqBR
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) July 18, 2016
