K balls can be prepped before games

Posted by Mike Florio on September 3, 2015, 7:34 AM EDT
Getty Images

From time to time during the extended #DeflateGate saga, reference has been made to the preparation of K balls before the start of a game. Many have been confused by such comments, since there’s a belief that the K balls come straight out of the box, with no preparation.

Actually, preparation of the out-of-the-box K balls occurs in the presence of the officials, with each team having up to 45 minutes to work on the balls. The NFL recently reminded teams of the do’s and don’t’s for pregame K ball preparation.

The K balls arrive from Wilson inflated to 13.0 PSI, and they’re buffed with a sponge and brushed with a ball brush. The K ball is then individually bagged and sealed for shipping.

Before a given game, teams are allowed to: (1) apply a wet towel to the ball;  (2) brush it with a standard ball brush; (3) use the side of the brush to soften the leather and remove the slickness of the ball; and (4) use the back of the brush to warm the leather and polish the ball.

The following actions are prohibited: (1) submersing the ball in water; (2) using a buffing machine; (3) sticking a knee into the ball; (4) standing on the ball; (5) exerting any other excess pressure to alter the shape of the ball; (6) bouncing the ball; (7) throwing the ball; (8) using any hard surface to alter the shape of the ball; or (9) adding air above 13.5 PSI at any point in the process.

It’s a bit odd that the rules say nothing about deflating the K balls at any point in the process, given the controversy that continues to hover over the league like the intestinally-processed odor of last night’s chili. While kickers would have no desire to kick a deflated ball, removing air could make it easier to grip the ball for preparation purposes.

In 2009, a Jets employee was suspended for attempting to use unapproved equipment in the preparation process. As Jay Feely recently explained it on The Doug Gottlieb Show, the employee tried to place a pad on the brush for comfort purposes during what can be a vigorous rubbing of the K ball in order to remove the slickness of the brand-new ball.

Permalink 12 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

12 responses to “K balls can be prepped before games”

  1. So the rules specifically allow the team to insert a needle and pump up the ball?

    That’s interesting. You’d think the league might have learned a thing or two from this whole deflatgate crap…

  2. How about having the manufacturer deliver the balls in a condition ready to play? Perhaps they charge a little more per ball but it would take this ridiculous individualizing equipment out of the process. The time and manpower wasted on allowing this makes no sense. It’s better if it is the same for both teams regardless of the personal likes or dislikes of the kicker.

  3. Florio,please stop with these stories,Patriots *fans have to devote all their time reading court transcripts and re-reading the Wells report. These extra articles make it harder to squeeze in their amateur lawyer training and coming up with more conspiracy theories. They already have a full plate defending their teams tainted legacy from all the evil haters who think it’s hilarious that the Patriots * can’t stop cheating.

  4. 99.5% of the public are generally aware that the NFL didn’t care about pressure of the non-K balls until accusations on the Patriots came about, followed by fabrication of a case in order to punish Brady and the Patriots

    The 0.5% can be found trolling any Patriots-related comment section

  5. Some of this is so arbitrary but at least it sounds like there’s a legitimate process here.

    Whether it’s always been diligently adhered to or taken serious enough by league officials so as to avoid sting operations and Federal court cases isn’t clear however.

  6. The Jets are allowed to tamper and prepare footballs against the rules without much recrimination. The point here is that rules are not administered evenly and Roger Goodell does not need to be fair because of Article 46. As Judge Doty said, Goodell acts as if no CBA exists at all and he can do what he wants. Maybe Berman will do the right thing and advise Goodell and the owners that that they still need to be mindful of the rules of shop and provide fairness in their disciplinary processes.

  8. He should have been fired and fined 2 million dollars….the Jets should have lost two draft picks as well not to mention a million dollar fine. These are obvious punishments for such a despicable crime violating the integrity of the game.

  10. Um, several of those prohibited practices, like standing on the ball, would deflate it.

    Notice Wlison doesn’t show any concern about their K balls deflating because of the temperature tho…

  11. How does trying to “place a pad on the brush for comfort purposes during what can be a vigorous rubbing of the K ball” during preparation that is ALLOWED and “LEGAL” according to league rules help the kicker? It’s not the same thing as deflating the ball in order to make it easier for the QB to grip. The kicker’s knowledge of what’s being done to the K-ball is nowhere near the same as Brady’s knowledge of what was being done to the game balls in an attempt to gain an advantage. Whether successful or not, the ATTEMPT to gain an advantage by breaking the rules is obvious here, and that is what resulted in the Pats’ punishment.

  12. “Before a given game, teams are allowed to: (1) apply a wet towel to the ball; (2) brush it with a standard ball brush; (3) use the side of the brush to soften the leather and remove the slickness of the ball; and (4) use the back of the brush to warm the leather and polish the ball.”

    This was changed after the famous Tony Romo slippery mis-handling of a fresh-from-the-box kicking ball. If you ever received a new football as a kid you know those things come pre-greased.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.