During the offseason, the National Football League plans on taking a closer look at the chain of custody when it comes to handling footballs before the game, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post. The process has come under criticism and scrutiny following the AFC Championship, in which the New England Patriots reportedly deflated 11 of their 12 footballs in a that game against the Indianapolis Colts.
NFL will review how game balls are handled
After all the problems bought up with the DeflateGate scandal, the NFL will be looking closely at the process.
One of the potential changes in the process could be league officials holding onto the footballs after the referees sign off on them. Currently, team officials have possession of the footballs, leading to the issue which cropped up on Sunday. None of this will be a problem when the Patriots meet the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, because the league holds onto the footballs beginning two days before the game.
Chicago Bears equipment manager Tony Medlin is in charge of the process for the Super Bowl, and the ball attendants were determined before the teams even reached the Super Bowl. Each team must provide a dozen footballs that it wants to use on offense, which will then be looked at and approved by the league two hours and 15 minutes before the Super Bowl. The home team also must provide an additional dozen balls as backups.
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