Can NFL players see the yellow first down line on the pitch? 1st and Ten technology used in Super Bowl since 1998

The Super Bowl is almost here and tens of millions of fans worldwide are ready to tune into the Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles. If you are not one of the very lucky few who get to watch the game from inside the Caesars Superdome, you’ll be watching on TV. The yellow line changed football foreverESPN And on those broadcasts of Super Bowl LIX, you’ll notice a yellow line drawn on the field during every play. That line is there to indicate the position a player needs to pass to achieve a first down during an offensive play. A first down is achieved when the offence gains 10 yards within a series of four plays and once that distance is reached, they get another four plays to go another 10 yards etc. So the line is incredibly handy to help understand the game and see where a team needs to get to as they look for a touchdown, especially for fans who are less clued up on the sport. However, those worried about the NFL stars on the pitch getting distracted by the bright color need not worry… Can NFL players see the yellow first down line? No, the players can’t see the yellow line on the pitch. It is specifically edited onto the field for viewers watching a game on television. Players can instead see where the 10-yard line is via a large, brightly coloured pole on the side of the pitch which usually is shaped like an arrow pointing down. The yellow line graphic is inserted by a computer system named 1st & Ten which Sportvision and PVI Virtual Media Services developed. It is operated during broadcasts by multiple staff members working in a vehicle full of equipment and computers parked outside the stadium. Mahomes and the Chiefs won’t be getting distracted by it in New OrleansGetty The first-ever appearance of the yellow line, which has now won multiple Emmy awards for technical achievement, came on September 27, 1998. Ever since then, fans at home have been easily able to identify where a team needs to reach to achieve a first down on their play. And it has evolved too, with some broadcasters changing the line colour for fourth downs and adding extra lines to show the line of scrimmage. Bill Squadron, the co-founder and CEO of Sportvision, told Sports Illustrated: “Stan Honey [CTO], Jerry Gepner [COO], and I have heard from a lot of people over the years about the line. “Among the most common comments were from men saying that it had made the game more understandable to their wives and girlfriends, and from fathers saying their children kept looking for the line on the field when they attended games. “And there are people who still think it’s done with lasers or disappearing paint.” ESPN won an Emmy for the creation of the yellow lineESPN How does the 1st & Ten technology work? Adding a yellow line onto the field of play during an NFL game seems simple, but it’s actually incredibly complicated. The system has to know the orientation of the field with respect to the TV camera so it can insert the line at the correct perspective. It also has to know where every yard line is, sense when someone on the field of play crosses a line, understand a perspective change and follow the curve of the field. To help with this, TV cameras are placed onto a special mount which helps the system understand how each one is moving during a game. 1st & Ten will also use an exact virtual 3D model of the pitch at a stadium, which it uses to help work out where cameras are and actually put the line on the field in the correct place. There are said to be eight computers involved in the system and they help to record aspects of each camera’s movement 30 times per second via the mounts. Fox unsuccessfully tried to drop 1st & Ten line to cut costs before fans revoltedFox When putting the line on the field, the computers use information from the virtual field, the camera mounts and the raw broadcast footage. It also uses a two-pallette colouring system which is similar to a green screen and is inspired by the weather reports we see on new programmes every night. Once the system works out which pixels on the coverage of the game need to be coloured yellow, the information is sent to a computer that draws the line. That line will then appear where the 10-yard first down line is on live TV broadcasts. Super Bowl LIX: talkSPORT coverage talkSPORT will live coverage of the Super Bowl from New Orleans. Will Gavin will be your play-by-play commentator, with NFL expert Gregg Rosenthal providing analysis. Our build-up will start at 10:30pm UK time, and there will also be a watch-a-long on the talkSPORT End Zone YouTube channel. There will also be a swathe of exclusive interviews in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, and talkSPORT.com will also have build-up and all the reaction. To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click

Feb 6, 2025 - 19:22

Can NFL players see the yellow first down line on the pitch? 1st and Ten technology used in Super Bowl since 1998

The Super Bowl is almost here and tens of millions of fans worldwide are ready to tune into the Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles.

If you are not one of the very lucky few who get to watch the game from inside the Caesars Superdome, you’ll be watching on TV.

The yellow line changed football forever

And on those broadcasts of Super Bowl LIX, you’ll notice a yellow line drawn on the field during every play.

That line is there to indicate the position a player needs to pass to achieve a first down during an offensive play.

A first down is achieved when the offence gains 10 yards within a series of four plays and once that distance is reached, they get another four plays to go another 10 yards etc.

So the line is incredibly handy to help understand the game and see where a team needs to get to as they look for a touchdown, especially for fans who are less clued up on the sport.

However, those worried about the NFL stars on the pitch getting distracted by the bright color need not worry…

Can NFL players see the yellow first down line?

No, the players can’t see the yellow line on the pitch.

It is specifically edited onto the field for viewers watching a game on television.

Players can instead see where the 10-yard line is via a large, brightly coloured pole on the side of the pitch which usually is shaped like an arrow pointing down.

The yellow line graphic is inserted by a computer system named 1st & Ten which Sportvision and PVI Virtual Media Services developed.

It is operated during broadcasts by multiple staff members working in a vehicle full of equipment and computers parked outside the stadium.

Mahomes and the Chiefs won’t be getting distracted by it in New Orleans

The first-ever appearance of the yellow line, which has now won multiple Emmy awards for technical achievement, came on September 27, 1998.

Ever since then, fans at home have been easily able to identify where a team needs to reach to achieve a first down on their play.

And it has evolved too, with some broadcasters changing the line colour for fourth downs and adding extra lines to show the line of scrimmage.

Bill Squadron, the co-founder and CEO of Sportvision, told Sports Illustrated: “Stan Honey [CTO], Jerry Gepner [COO], and I have heard from a lot of people over the years about the line.

“Among the most common comments were from men saying that it had made the game more understandable to their wives and girlfriends, and from fathers saying their children kept looking for the line on the field when they attended games.

“And there are people who still think it’s done with lasers or disappearing paint.”

ESPN won an Emmy for the creation of the yellow line

How does the 1st & Ten technology work?

Adding a yellow line onto the field of play during an NFL game seems simple, but it’s actually incredibly complicated.

The system has to know the orientation of the field with respect to the TV camera so it can insert the line at the correct perspective.

It also has to know where every yard line is, sense when someone on the field of play crosses a line, understand a perspective change and follow the curve of the field.

To help with this, TV cameras are placed onto a special mount which helps the system understand how each one is moving during a game.

1st & Ten will also use an exact virtual 3D model of the pitch at a stadium, which it uses to help work out where cameras are and actually put the line on the field in the correct place.

There are said to be eight computers involved in the system and they help to record aspects of each camera’s movement 30 times per second via the mounts.

Fox unsuccessfully tried to drop 1st & Ten line to cut costs before fans revolted

When putting the line on the field, the computers use information from the virtual field, the camera mounts and the raw broadcast footage.

It also uses a two-pallette colouring system which is similar to a green screen and is inspired by the weather reports we see on new programmes every night.

Once the system works out which pixels on the coverage of the game need to be coloured yellow, the information is sent to a computer that draws the line.

That line will then appear where the 10-yard first down line is on live TV broadcasts.

Super Bowl LIX: talkSPORT coverage

talkSPORT will live coverage of the Super Bowl from New Orleans.

Will Gavin will be your play-by-play commentator, with NFL expert Gregg Rosenthal providing analysis.

Our build-up will start at 10:30pm UK time, and there will also be a watch-a-long on the talkSPORT End Zone YouTube channel.

There will also be a swathe of exclusive interviews in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, and talkSPORT.com will also have build-up and all the reaction.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM