what to look for in a game used football?

[yankees24]

I have someone who is offering to sell me a Wilson NFL football he said was game used, there are scuffs and wear on the ball but are there other areas I should take notice of to distinguish this from any regular ball? basically what, if any, are differences between actual game used balls from the ones sold in stores? thanks.

[cohibasmoker]

Starting in 2006, the NFL had Wilson Sporting Goods laser-print the team names onto footballs that were sent directly to the individual NFL teams. Some Tagliabue footballs MAY have been used in the regular season but not many because Goddell was the commissioner once the regular season started.

The difference between retail vs team-issued footballs is retail footballs DO NOT have team names laser-printed onto the panel under the NFL shield.

The Dukes in the left scan I just picked up while the Duke on the right is already in my collection. If you need closer scans, just email me at flaa1a@comcast.net


Hope this helps,

Jim

[indyred]

Anyone see Ed Reed record setting int return of td in the Ravens game yesterday. It was for 108 yards and he gave the ball to a fan sitting in front row wearing his jersey in the endzone right after he scored. I couldn't believe he just gave away a historic ball like that. If I was the dude who got the ball I'd somehow get it authenticated from team or something asap. That ball has got to be worth some big $ or should be in HOF.

[cohibasmoker]

Anyone see Ed Reed record setting int return of td in the Ravens game yesterday. It was for 108 yards and he gave the ball to a fan sitting in front row wearing his jersey in the endzone right after he scored. I couldn't believe he just gave away a historic ball like that. If I was the dude who got the ball I'd somehow get it authenticated from team or something asap. That ball has got to be worth some big $ or should be in HOF.

I saw that. Wow what a collectible. I wonder if later in the game a team member tried to get the football back after they realized the significance of that football.

Jim

[mikey68]

hi. this is my first post/question on this site, which is awesome, by the way. i saw the question about a game used football and i had a quick question. i just received a game used nfl gameball from superbowl 42 and it came from a reputable source (nfl ref. executive at a charity auction). anyway, i've read that psa uses something called dna ink to identify all the game balls from the last few superbowls, that can only be viewed by a specific laser. does anybody know of anyway to see the marking or what kind of laser can be used? i assume it could be sent to psa, but i hate to send off the ball with the way the mail is handled these days. many thanks in advance.

[jake33]

I was looking for a game ball that was used in a Buccaneers game, since the bucs are stingy on their goods, I had to get an Eagles ball from meigray, it does have some scuffs but I liked that is came with a team loa

[BarryMeisel]

Hi Yankees 24,

There is something else to look for, something the Eagles told us when we marketed their game-used footballs.

Each NFL referee has a small personal marking that he uses to mark the footballs for games his crew works. It could be as simple as an initial, or something unusual. But you should look for a mark on the ball that appears as if a person is trying to personally identify the ball.

Hope this helps,

Barry Meisel, MeiGray

[cohibasmoker]

hi. this is my first post/question on this site, which is awesome, by the way. i saw the question about a game used football and i had a quick question. i just received a game used nfl gameball from superbowl 42 and it came from a reputable source (nfl ref. executive at a charity auction). anyway, i've read that psa uses something called dna ink to identify all the game balls from the last few superbowls, that can only be viewed by a specific laser. does anybody know of anyway to see the marking or what kind of laser can be used? i assume it could be sent to psa, but i hate to send off the ball with the way the mail is handled these days. many thanks in advance.

It would seem to me that if you contact PSA, they may be able to help you out. Could you post an image of the football? It would be an interesting item to see.

A year or so ago, I was talking to a Wilson employee who told me that the NFL and Wilson were toying with the idea of actually putting a chip under the laces for footballs used in big games like the Super Bowl. Maybe the chip idea didn't work out and they went to the ink stamp instead.

Jim

[cohibasmoker]

I was looking for a game ball that was used in a Buccaneers game, since the bucs are stingy on their goods, I had to get an Eagles ball from meigray, it does have some scuffs but I liked that is came with a team loa

Jake,

Your ship may have just sailed in. This baby just popped up on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NFL-OFFICIAL-FOO...QQcmdZViewItem

[kj33706]

Barry Meisel is correct when he says that each referee has a specific mark that they put on the football. The referee for this last Rams home game was Terry McCauly and he puts his #77 on one of the panels. I've seen some refs color a lace with black sharpie and others have stamps like anchors or stars. Larry Nemers, Walt alston? use very nice initials and Mike Carey puts a sloppy MC on the football.

The game balls are brought in by each team and the referee checks them before each game. Each team supplies 24 (I believe) balls for each game. There used to be only 24 game balls supplied by the home team until 2006. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady complained that they didn't like the footballs that were supplied during away games so the league came up with the rule that each team could supply their own balls and the refs would check them. The best balls are the ones that have multiple refs markings on them. I have several that are like this. Just got a Bears ball that was used during the last play of the Rams/Bears game.

The kicking balls are a whole different story. The naturally have the K stamp on them and are marked as well. These balls however are specifically made for the game they are supplied for. There are 12 K balls used and they now have the game week # followed by the # 1-12 ball. These are heavily guarded by a sideline official wearing a maroon polo. This whole system came about as a result of the Tony Romo fumbled snap during the Seahawk playoff game. The ball boys from the Seahawks (IMO) gave the Cowboys a brand new, never "worked up" kicking ball for the last play of the game. The ploy worked perfectly as the ball slipped thru Romo's hands and the Seahawks won the game. The ball boys usually get to work up 2 kicking balls per game and the other 10 are never touched. I have seen ball boys try and retrieve K balls that go into the stands because the kickers and punters want to use that ball all game. I have seen opposing kickers and punters yelling at ball boys about the balls that they are putting into play.

Be very careful when you buy game balls if you expect to see a bunch of use. Each team only really "uses" 10 balls per game although they have 24 game issued. And like I stated before, only about 2 K balls are "used" per game even though 12 are issued.

I just sold a 2004 kickoff weekend ($138), 2006 kickoff weekend ($200), and a 2007 kickoff weekend ($133) on ebay. I currently have a Cardinals and a Bears ball from this year. If you have any interest please post your email address here and I will contact you with details.