Sony’s NFL tech overhaul goes from the chain gang to coaches’ headphones

As portion of a caller concern with the NFL, Sony is processing a caller acceptable of headphones for NFL coaches that volition debut during the 2025 season. The caller headphones are being built “from the crushed up,” Sony Electronics’ Matthew Parnell tells The Verge successful a briefing, and Sony engineers person already started moving with NFL operations teams connected the product.

Sony’s caller headset for coaches volition beryllium a “brand caller model,” Parnell says, and the institution volition person to marque definite it tin withstand galore kinds of upwind and inactive enactment successful large stadiums.” The headphones volition besides usage backstage 5G networks from Verizon truthful that coaches tin pass with each different — existent headphones usage Verizon’s CBRS wireless connection.

It’s unclear to what grade the caller coaches headphones volition get from products similar Sony’s WH-1000XM5 and the company’s well-regarded sound cancellation tech, arsenic the caller merchandise doesn’t really beryllium contiguous and won’t beryllium “until we get further on successful the improvement process implicit the people of the adjacent 9 to 12 months,” Parnell says. But helium says that “it’s a collaboration to the nth-degree with the NFL squad connected what they privation and what they request america to build.”

“We are known and recognized for our sound canceling, our dependable quality, each the things that marque our user headphones truthful amazing,” says Sony’s Maya Wasserman. “Bringing that exertion and integrating it each the truly circumstantial needs that the NFL has for this headset is precise breathtaking for us.”

We’ll person to hold and spot if Dolphins caput manager Mike McDaniel volition admit the caller acceptable oregon petition the league to power back to Bose truthful helium tin perceive his violative coordinator and YG a small much clearly.

Sony volition besides beryllium an authoritative exertion spouse for the NFL, and arsenic portion of that, the NFL volition grow its usage of Sony’s Hawk-Eye tracking technology. Starting with this season’s preseason games, the NFL volition trial utilizing Hawk-Eye to assistance measure progression toward archetypal downs, says the NFL’s Tracie Rodburg. Hawk-Eye volition beryllium installed successful each stadiums, Rodburg says. And successful “coming seasons,” the Hawk-Eye squad and the NFL volition enactment unneurotic connected processing a “next-generation officiating technology” that tin reappraisal and marque captious rulings connected plays, according to a property release.