In the midst of Deflategate, I set out to learn more about the behind-the-scenes process of preparing an NFL football.
It all begins months before the season, during the summer. New balls are ordered for the upcoming season and then the equipment staff gets to work.
“We would rough them up all summer,” Justin Green, a former ball boy for the Colts (2010) and Texans (2011) explained to VigilantSports.com. “We would rough them up, then give to the kickers to kick around at practice. Then, we would put them in the game bags. We would switch them out all year if Peyton [Manning] didn’t like some of them.
Justin Green (center) talks with kickers Pat McAfee and Adam Vinatieri prior to a Colts game in 2010.
“Peyton wants the balls roughed up a lot. He hated the balls that felt new and slick. So we would rough them up with brushes, wet clothes, and even spread mud on the balls and let them sit outside. But we had a range that the ball pressure had to be in.”
That goes along what I know from working in the NBA for nearly 10 years. The equipment manager fills the ball rack with mostly worn, rubbed down basketballs, along with a few new ones. Then, as the season goes along, more new balls are added to be broken in.
When players go to the ball cart and selects a basketball to shoot with, they always chose the worn basketball — because it’s easier to grip and shoot.
Related: Patriots deflate rules again — Goodell must harshly penalized Patriots, Belichick
Before this week, NFL fans did not know the pressure requirements for the Wilson football, myself included. Now, we all know.
“When I asked about (ball pressure),” Green recalled, “I remember (the Colts) telling me that the league told them what the psi [pounds per square inch] had to be.”
Each ball must be between 12.5 to 13.5 psi and the pressure is checked before each game by the officials. But only the kicking balls are kept and locked away.
(Expect that to change. Just like each venue is required to have an independent head-injury expert on-site, next season there will probably be one person solely in charge of the footballs. One sour apple spoils it for everybody.)
The official NFL football for Super Bowl XLIX.
For now, both teams then handle their own footballs, and the Patriots purposely chose to deflate their footballs on Sunday, and perhaps the week before against Baltimore. (Who knows how long they have been doing this!)
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the NFL found that 11 of the Patriots’ 12 footballs were two pounds under-inflated. It may be ridiculous that we’re discussing this, but the little things matter. Especially in a billion dollar business.
Prior to each game, the ball boys use a gauge to check the air pressure of their footballs before placing them into the “game ball” bag. They also ensure the footballs are roughed up and “up to Peyton’s standards,” Green added.
“He would hand choose them though. It was crazy. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal but his attention to detail was second to none.”
We’ve known that about Peyton, but he’s not on the only one. Quarterbacks want their team’s football tailored to them. Tom Brady has his desired feel to a football, just like Andrew Luck has his.
The Patriots, specifically Brady, obviously prefer their footballs to be under-inflated for wet conditions. Now it’s on the NFL to sternly react.
[Football photo via @DarrenRovell]