Editing Chain crew (section)

==Members==
Three members of the chain crew hold poles upright. The bottom of each pole is placed along a sideline to denote a line across the gridiron to the opposite sideline.
#A "rod man" holds the "rear rod" that marks the beginning of the current [[Down (American and Canadian football)|set of downs]].
#Another "rod man" holds the "forward rod" ten yards toward the defense's goal-line from the rear rod. This marker indicates the [[Glossary of American football#L|line to gain]], which the offense must reach in their series of four downs in order to retain possession of the ball. The two rods (sometimes known as "sticks") are attached at the bottom by a chain exactly ten yards long. The chain is always taut so that the rods are ten yards apart.
#The "box man" holds a pole that marks the [[line of scrimmage]].

There may be additional chain crew members. A "clip man" is discussed [[#Operations|below]]. In the NFL, additional chain crew members have additional tasks, such as to relieve the line judge of the clerical task of recording all assessed penalties.<ref name=chaininterview/> Despite the use of "man" in the colloquial terms for the chain crew positions, women can perform any of them.<ref name=chaininterview/>

Members of the chain crew are usually picked by the offices of the home team instead of the league or conference. In the NFL, members of the chain crew must have credentials entitling them to access to the field, and must wear white shirts. The home team pays them; some teams pay an hourly wage and others pay a flat rate to work a game.<ref name=chaininterview>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25509360/everything-ever-wanted-know-crew-moves-chains-nfl|first=Paul|last=Lukas|title=Everything you ever wanted to know about the crew that moves the chains in the NFL|work=ESPN.com|date=December 12, 2018|access-date=December 12, 2018}}</ref>

The chain crew does not wear protective gear as players do. A routine instruction by officials to the chain crew is to withdraw or drop their signals, and move back, if the play comes toward them so as to endanger them. Often, the signals use bright orange color, are padded, and have break-away components for safety.