Using a pair of location beacons embedded in each player’s shoulder pads, the Zebra system is able to measure speed, acceleration, and distance covered in nearly real-time — there’s just a half-second latency — and to within a margin of error of less than 6 inches. Referees and the first-down measuring sticks along the sideline are also equipped with the coin-sized RFID tags, leaving only the ball as an untracked entity on the field. (Zebra is working on a custom transmitter with wider weight distribution for 2015 that will make it possible to track the most critical object without affecting its flight or feel.) The company describes 2014 as a "best effort" year, with half the NFL stadiums being outfitted with its sensor networks and only occasional uses of the technology manifesting themselves in game broadcasts till now. But the vision for this technology is much grander than its present state.

The 2011 CBA already has provisions for location tracking on the field

The obvious first use for precise positional information of this sort is for coaches looking to analyze their players’ performance. Did the wide receiver run the exact route he was supposed to? Did the cornerback keep a disciplined distance away? WIth built-in accelerometers and the redundancy of having two sensors per player, the tracking system knows which way a player is facing and how smoothly he is moving around the field (on top of how quickly). For the players, that will mean an extra layer of accountability, going beyond the already extensive set of statistics that are tracked on each play. There’ll be no dissension from among their ranks, however, since they agreed to wear sensors for tracking of location and health metrics in their 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The NFL has been preparing to deploy what it calls Next Gen Stats for a long time. It signed up Zebra as its provider this summer after a year-long evaluation period that included other competing solutions. The league’s focus is actually less on providing analytics for its member teams and more on augmenting the fan experience. In fact, in order to ensure fairness, the NFL isn’t releasing the data it’s gathering to the teams until all 31 stadiums have installed the sensor system necessary to track the RFID tags.