The National Football League is 100 years old this year and the game and how it is played has changed dramatically. The influence of electronics has impacted the NFL game tremendously; from the first night game thanks to electric lighting, to the ability to track players motion on the field using RFID chips in their equipment.

The use of lighting and the ability to play night games changed sports forever, and the NFL in particular. The first NFL night game was played in 1929 between the Chicago Cardinals and the Providence Steam Roller - two of the original 8 teams in the NFL. The game was played Nov. 6, at Kinsley Park in Providence, Rhode Island, after heavy rains flooded the home field of the Steam Rollers. Interestingly, the information for floodlights in Wikipedia is largely about their use in sports.

“A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions”.

The ability to illuminate a field and play games at night greatly improved attendance numbers. Now people could go to games after work. As the quality of lighting improved so do its use on football fields. The introduction of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), was - no pun intended - game changing. LEDs had lower power consumption, longer life, and instant start-up (much appreciated as they did not need to have the "warm-up" after power outages so no long delays).

LEDs were also used in scoreboards, another part of the NFL game that started out as a manual process. People would man the scoreboards and used cards to tell time, post scores and other game information. The electronic scoreboard offered quicker response times and the opportunity to provide more information. This was a long way from when quarter ends were denoted with the firing of a starting pistol before digital timing was added. As has been noted: “These days in the world of sports the scoreboard is looked at just as much as the playing field”.    

The record breaking scoreboard goes to the Cowboys. “In 2009, the Dallas Cowboys made the Guinness World Records with a four-sided, center-hung, high-definition video display at AT&T Stadium. Mitsubishi's Diamond Vision® LED technology was used for the two main sideline displays, which measure 72 feet high by 160 feet wide, and two Diamond Vision end-zone displays measuring 29 feet high by 51 feet wide. Weighing 600 tons, the screens are suspended 90 feet directly over the center of the playing surface and stretch from nearly one 20-yard line to the other,” Athletic Business reported.

People watching the game from home or their favorite bar, have the benefit of a number of the electronic advantages the game has adopted. The yellow line - that many attending games for the first time look for - has been a boon to fans madly watching the defense and offense fight for and against first downs. “The virtual yellow line has been quietly enhancing football broadcasts by giving viewers a live, intuitive guide to the state of play. The graphic is engineered to appear painted on the field, rather than simply plopped on top of the players, so it doesn’t distract from the game at all,” Vox notes. The line was first used during a September 27, 1998, game between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.

The use of helmet speakers, officially started in 1994, though the technology was first invented by a couple of Cleveland Brown fans in the 1950s. The NFL banned the use for 40 years. Now allowed, their use has a number of rules that many fans may not be aware of. So, as you watch the Super Bowl, be aware that only 2 players for each team get to wear the speakered helmets. One offensive player (usually the quarterback) and one defensive player from each team wear the special helmets. There are also other rules that many are unaware of:

1. The speaker is turned off 15 seconds before the play clock expires.

2. The coach speaking must be on the field - he cannot be in the booth.

3. The communication is only one way - coach to player.

4. The player with the speaker helmet has a green dot on the back of the helmet.

5. If one side’s helmet malfunctions both team’s helmets are disabled.

On a side note, headset communication is not allowed in college, high school and other youth games - hence the hand signals and picture boards.

Electronic components are used everywhere in the NFL. Gone are the drawings and paper used to record plays for coaches analysis previously and in their place are tablets and touchscreens. Though cell phones are banned in the NFL. New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas was fined $30,000 in 2018 when he produced a cell phone hidden in the padding of a goal post after scoring a touchdown. No cell phones are allowed on or around the field with the exception of “Team doctors and members of the athletic training staff are permitted to use tablet devices, cell phones, smart phones, or similar devices within the bench area and locker room to communicate player injury information, but may not communicate competitive or strategic information,” 24/7 Sports reported.

Tracking players has also become a part of the technology used in the NFL and even the footballs are tagged. “To keep tabs on player performance during NFL games, Zebra Technologies developed Next Gen Stats, a player and ball tracking system. Also known as the NFL Player Tracking System, Zebra's RFID chips are capable of recording location, speed, and acceleration for every play during games and practices by placing sensors and receivers throughout football stadium to detect tags embedded in footballs and players' gear,” ThomasNet notes.

Five years ago, the NFL recognized the importance of technology in their sport and helped organize the 1st and Future event. “1st and Future is the NFL's annual Super Bowl competition designed to spur innovation in player health, safety and performance. This year's event will feature two categories of competition” - the NFL 1st and Future Analytics Competition and Innovations to Advance Athlete Health and Safety Competition.

Previous years have seen winners who worked on concussion protocols and developed a patent for a training device that strengthen neck muscles. Another, “Mobile Virtual Player (MVP) is an innovative, patented training platform that allows coaches to teach and train players effectively while significantly reducing the risk of injury from player-to-player contact. MVP brings a highly-mobile, remote controlled, self-righting 'virtual player' onto the field to revolutionize football training”.

Obviously, instant replay has been a valuable use of technology for the NFL. Introduced in 1986, the initial product was cumbersome and involved physically rewinding tape. The NFL discontinued it at the end of the 1992 season and was not reintroduced until 1999 when the electronics and video technology had evolved.

Wearable tech development has had the support of the NFL and its Players Association. As has been noted:

"Today the leading edge of uniform tech is smart materials. Many of the base-layer products, such as Under Armour's Coreshort, include compression characteristics to help stabilize muscles and decrease injury potential. Companies make apparel that whisks water away and has lightweight, high-density foam for added protection. Nike's new NFL uniform contains nine different materials for purposes such as thermal cooling and snapping the uniform into place to make it harder to grab. Uniforms that allow running backs to shed one more would-be tackler may be the best advancement yet".                                                                                                                                             Popular Mechanics

All of this tech will be on display during Superbowl 54 in Miami. The tech advertisers also show the shift of the audience and how this event attracts users of tech. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon will all be pitching their tech to TV viewers.

Enjoy the game!