I was mindlessly surfing social media recently when I came across a cut up video of how the New York Jets prepare their footballs for games. Full disclosure, I never really thought that deeply about the process although in the NFL the game balls have always been noticeable for being really dark. If you buy a certified NFL football from Wilson it’s definitely tan with maybe a darker wine hue to it. Yet, the balls you see during an NFL game can almost look black at times.

In my mind, someone on staff dumped some sticky substance on the balls, rubbed it in for a minute, and threw the balls into a bag to be used for games. Easy work. As I was watching the Jets’ video I thought it was fun at first…then it keeps going, and going, and going. These game balls are pampered beyond imagination!

I found the full video:

I’ve since gone down a YouTube rabbit hole.

I had the preciousness of the football on the mind ever since a few weeks ago when a Bills fan caught a ball in the end zone and immediately took off up the stairs, football under his jersey, trying to make his way out of the stadium with an official piece of game memorabilia. He later brought the ball back and was given a different non-used ball in exchange. This is also when I learned the NFL has been using chips inside the game balls since 2017.

College football has not introduced ball chips yet.

Back to the game ball prep, am I crazy to think the lengths these teams go to get these things ready just so is actually bizarre?

There are differences between how each team prepares them, as well. Then, you have a rotating cast of quarterback preferences, plus the changes they may want to make depending on the type of weather that is anticipated. This is a full blown sports science!

For as long as I can remember the road team in college football was allowed to use its own supplied team balls when their team was on offense. Of course, programs in college have their own football supplier deals* whereas the NFL is all using the same Wilson produced ball. I was shocked to learn that it was only as recent as 2006 that the NFL allowed road teams to bring their own footballs to use during games.

*Over 6 years ago I wrote about the history of *the* football and I just learned that nearly every program is still using a Wilson manufactured football that is branded by Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour. It’s curious that Notre Dame hasn’t branded the football with the UA logo…yet.

An exception to this set up is Navy–here’s a shot of Navy this past weekend using their Big Game manufactured ball complete with blue laces and their anchor logo:

This makes me wonder how does CJ Carr like his game ball prepared? Is he involved in the process weekly and how much of an opinion would they give to Kenny Minchey as the backup? Are they preparing 4 or 5 balls for Carr to use with a couple backups ready in case Minchey has to play?

People lamented the end of the gold helmet painting process, let’s see a video of how Notre Dame’s game day football preparation process instead!

Here’s a few shots of recent balls from Notre Dame:

Do you think “CB” stand for “Carr Ball?”

The first photo is from the spring where the gold shamrock logo was on the football. The team has since switched to the new running leprechaun logo on the ball that was launched earlier this year.

PSA: If you’d like a “game ready” football Wilson upcharges about $50 extra to either prepare it before you buy it or send in your previously bought ball to be pampered and shipped back to you.