What information is in the microchip in the NFL footballs

1. What the microchip actually measures — motion and identity, not play rulings

The chip is an active RFID device with inertial sensing that provides a unique tag identifier plus sensor outputs: accelerometer-derived measures (acceleration, indications of end‑over‑end vs. spiral), instantaneous speed, spin/rotation rate and the ball’s tracked position over time so the league can compute distance traveled and proximity to field features such as goal posts ^{[1] [6] [7]}. Reporting repeatedly describes the chip as giving speed, spin and whether the ball is spiraling, and Zebra’s system transmits a “tag identifier” along with sensor information in data packets ^{[1] [6] [2]}.

2. How the data gets from ball to the dashboards

Receivers mounted around the stadium pick up the tag “blink” packets and combine the ball’s RFID stream with optical-camera systems and player-tag data to create Next Gen Stats and broadcaster graphics; Zebra Technologies supplies both the tags and the radio equipment used to capture the packets ^{[3] [8] [6]}. The system was designed to automate currently manual tallying — for example counting quarterback throws — and to fuse ball and player tracking for richer analytics ^{[3] [1]}.

3. Accuracy, technical limitations and why it can’t yet settle every spot

Multiple league and technology sources caution that tag accuracy is limited: published tolerances describe measurements down to about six inches and guaranteed to about ten inches in some tests, and the chip’s physical placement inside the ball means its measured point is not the ball’s nose, which matters in spot decisions ^{[4] [9] [8]}. The RFID was not initially designed to be the final authority for inches-level rulings; it’s effective for flight-path, out‑of‑bounds and gross location work, but it cannot determine subtleties like whether a player’s knee touched first or whether the ball was cradled across the plane ^{[10] [4]}.

4. Who sees and uses the data — teams, broadcasters, the league and research

The NFL collects the data into Next Gen Stats for post‑game reports and broadcaster feeds, while teams and coaches use the metrics for performance analysis in practices and games; some data streams are exclusive to teams or commercial partners while other metrics are shown on TV and NFL.com ^{[3] [7] [11]}. The league has also used the chips in preseason testing to inform Competition Committee decisions about future uses, and stadiums and some teams equip facilities to track balls in practice as well ^{[7] [3]}.

5. Controversies, competing technologies and vested interests

There is active debate about replacing human spotting with technology: proponents point to the chips plus camera-based systems (Hawk-Eye/Sony) as a recipe for better precision, while critics note current error margins and the unique chaos of football plays make instantaneous automated rulings premature ^{[5] [9] [12]}. Commercial incentives are implicit: Zebra, Wilson and broadcast partners profit from richer data products and viewer engagement, and teams seek competitive advantage from exclusive analytics — all factors that shape deployment and messaging ^{[3] [11]}.

6. Bottom line — what’s in the chip and what it can and cannot do today

The microchip stores a unique ID and streams accelerometer- and RF-based sensor data that yields speed, spin, acceleration and a tracked position over time; that stream is valuable for analytics, broadcasts and some replay support, but the system’s documented accuracy and sensor placement mean it is not yet a standalone replacement for referees on inches-level spots or possession/knee-down determinations ^{[1] [6] [4]}.