re: Anyone know how they treat the NFL footballs? Why are they so dark now?

Seems like you’d never want to soak leather in water...but I guess it pushes out all the dyes and sealers they put on it.

quote:

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The new ball is rubbed vigorously for 45 minutes with a dark brush, which removes the wax and darkens the leather.
¦ Next, a wet towel is used to scour the ball until the ball’s outer surface is soaked through. “You’re not done until the ball is waterlogged and water will no longer bead on it,” Ed Skiba said.
¦ While the ball is wet, it is brushed again.
¦ Then the ball is taken over to an electric spin wheel, where it undergoes another high-speed scrubbing. At this point, the ball is put aside overnight. Then the process is repeated twice over the next couple of days. About five days after it was removed from its box, the ball might go into the rotation of footballs used in a Giants practice. The goal is to get the new balls banged around, thrown and dropped in the grass and dirt. The players rough up the ball and sweat on it, which helps the aging.

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Sounds like a girl I new in high school.

Both are "new" footballs. The one on the right is after about a day of conditioning.



Anyone who has played organized football HATES brand new balls. They come out of the box hard, dry, and with a wax coating that makes them almost waterproof. I played QB in HS and absolutely hated new footballs. We'd get 3 new ones into the mix at the beginning of each week. Each one probably didn't get used in a game until the next year...after guys had played catch with it all season in practice warm ups; it had hit the hard dirt hundreds of time and got scuffed up, etc.

It's really the same concept of breaking in a baseball glove. A little bit of buffing/softening the leather. Conditioning (oil). This may excite some on the OT, but the best balls are somewhat soft and tacky

I was trying to keep the top ball as a QB ball, but making it ready to kick is my priority right now.

Mostly because one is completely not broken in, My son has been offered training specific to high school and beyond, and I want him with more than one ball for Monday of next week.

When he’s working with the coach they’ll have equipment, but I’m sure he’ll go off and work on his own at times. I don’t want him responsible for someone else’s gear.

I was hesitant to put leather conditioner made for car seats on the balls, since that stuff always seems so slick. I have some really nice Lexol products.

I just got a new Nike Vapor football. Needs to be used, its spotless.

Does it really matter if it's being used as a kicking ball?

I know in high school all of the super old balls that had become slick went to the locker and punter to practice with.

They need to be soft to kick. They’re stones out of the box. Ideally you want REALLY old, “butter”, balls to kick and punt.