The NFL launched a full-blown investigation last year amid allegations that the New England Patriots intentionally underinflated footballs, but that did not inspire the league to closely monitor air pressure this past season.
A recent report indicated that the NFL was considering releasing the PSI data that it collected during the 2015 season prior to the Super Bowl, though it seemed more likely that fans would get a summary rather than actual numbers. As it turns out, there were no actual numbers.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen on Tuesday that the league hasn’t kept any data it collected this season and only did “spot checks” to assure teams weren’t violating ball tampering rules.
“What the league did this year was what we do with a lot of rules and policies designed to protect the integrity of the game, and that’s to create a deterrent effect,” Goodell said, per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. “We do spot checks to prevent and make sure the clubs understand that we’re watching these issues. It wasn’t a research study. They simply were spot checks.”
As you may recall, a frenzy erupted after the AFC Championship Game last season. What followed was a multimillion-dollar investigation that resulted in Goodell taking two draft picks away from the Patriots, fining the team $1 million and suspending Tom Brady for four games. Brady’s suspension was later overturned in court.
Given how big of a deal the act of allegedly tampering with game balls was a year ago, why did the NFL choose not to keep actual data this year to further prove to fans how serious they are about protecting the integrity of the game?
The reason is obvious. One scientist said that testing the PSI of footballs at halftime of an incredibly cold game like this would show that the balls lost a significant amount of air pressure — several pounds, even — due to weather conditions. While it wasn’t exactly a freezing night in Foxboro for last year’s AFC Championship Game, the Patriots’ balls weren’t all that far under the legal limit when you factor in the Ideal Gas Law. You can see the actual numbers here.
If the NFL collected data and had to share it with fans, we’d be given a better understanding of how air temperature can affect the inflation level of a football. NFL officials have admitted they didn’t even know that could happen before they “busted” the Patriots. Recording actual PSI numbers would have likely shown that balls were regularly underinflated at halftime and after games on colder days. Once fans saw that, many would wonder what all the fuss was about with Deflategate.
So, instead, the NFL is pushing forward with its lack of transparency. The league had to call Ted Wells to investigate the Patriots and try to suspend Brady for a quarter of the season, but apparently “spot checks” were enough this past season. We wouldn’t expect anything more from Roger Goodell.
