NFL reportedly will institute new procedures for game balls

It sounds as if the referees -- not Tom Brady and the New England Patriots -- will be the biggest victims of the Deflategate controversy.

According to Fox Sports, the NFL will institute several changes this season to ensure footballs remain properly inflated during games. The changes reportedly include random air-pressure testing of balls during halftime and after games, with PSI numbers recorded and submitted to the league. In addition, NFL security personnel will have a greater role in monitoring footballs throughout out the game.

Here’s a breakdown of the new rules according to Fox Sports’ Mike Pereira, a former head of officiating for the NFL:

-- Every team will supply 24 footballs to officials two hours and 15 minutes before the game -- 12 primary and 12 backup.

-- Two members of the officiating crew will be designated by the referee to inspect the footballs and make sure they are inflated to 12.5 to 13.5 PSI. In previous seasons, only the referee was in charge of inspecting the footballs.

-- Each ball will be numbered 1 through 12. Any balls under or over the air pressure limits will be adjusted to 13.0 PSI.

-- The kicking ball coordinator, a member of the officiating crew who previously handled only the six “k balls” used on kicking plays, will take custody of the balls after they’ve been approved by the officials. The coordinator will keep control of the footballs until 10 minutes before the game starts. The coordinator and an NFL security representative will then distribute the 12 approved footballs to each team.

-- The NFL will test footballs at halftime and after games at randomly selected contests. When a game has been selected for the testing, the kicking ball coordinator will collect all 24 footballs from both teams and be escorted to the locker room by NFL security personnel. The coordinator will then test the PSI in each football and record the results, which will then be sent to the league office.

The reported procedural changes stem from an NFL-commissioned investigation that concluded two Patriots team attendants deflated footballs used during the team’s AFC Championship victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18. The report also found “it was more probable than not” that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was “generally aware” of team attendants deflating footballs. Brady has denied any wrongdoing.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Brady four games and fined the Patriots $1 million. He also stripped them of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-round selection in 2017.

Brady appealed his suspension during a 10-hour hearing at NFL headquarters in New York on June 23.

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