NFL using chip-equipped footballs in preseason to improve game

Technology has become a big part of the National Football League.

The league’s latest venture is using data chip-equipped footballs during preseason games. The move is part of the league’s Next Gen Stats tracking project to find ways to improve the game.

Every football being used during the preseason has a chip.

The Dallas Cowboys will host Miami in their second preseason game on Friday at AT&T Stadium.

Included among the data that will be collected are the distance the ball travels on a given play, the football’s proximity to the goal posts on a field goal or point-after-touchdown attempt and the location of defenders relative to the ball when it is thrown or caught.

At the conclusion of the preseason, the league’s competition committee will review the results to determine how the footballs performed along with potential uses for the data collected. There is the potential for the information to be used in the future on media platforms and in-game telecasts, including this season’s Thursday Night Football regular-season games.

The league is already using the Next Gen Stats platform to capture real time location data, speed and acceleration for every player, every play on every square inch of the field. Sensors throughout the stadium track tags placed on players' shoulder pads, charting individual movements within inches.