First Super Bowl task is accomplished: making the footballs

What was one of the very first things that had to be done to get ready for this year's Super Bowl? Start making the official footballs for the game.

As soon as this year’s Super Bowl matchup was set last Sunday night, workers at the Wilson Sporting Goods football factory jumped into action.

Normally it takes three days from start to finish to make a football. But the first batch of footballs had to be sent to the Super Bowl teams on Monday, within about 18 hours, so they have enough time to break them in for practices and the game. 

The factory in the rural village of Ada, Ohio, makes the game balls used by every NFL team along with many of the nation’s top college programs and high schools.

But this time of year it’s all about the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will face off for the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in three years on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.

The two teams each got a shipment of 108, all stamped with the Super Bowl logo and team names. The quarterbacks and the kickers went through each one, and picked out the ones that felt best to them to use in the game. About 50 have been locked away for each team until it’s time for kickoff.

NFL balls are notable for the lack of a stripe on the ends. They’re also embedded with a chip that tracks the ball’s position on the field, how far it travels and its trajectory.

It’s a 20-step process, most of it by hand, from cutting out the four leather panels that are sewn together with 250 stitches to putting in the laces. For NFL footballs, the work goes to the factory’s most experienced and skilled workers. “Certain parts of the process require a handmade feel,” said Kevin Murphy, general manager of Wilson Team Sports. “It’s like making a beautiful, sculpted pair of shoes.”

Throughout production the balls are weighed, measured and inspected for flaws. Once finished, they’re checked again. By the time they’re packaged and ready for shipping, each one will have been touched by about 50 workers.

Wilson churns out roughly 500,000 footballs each year, or about 2,500 per day. NFL teams go through several hundred during a season. For the Super Bowl, Wilson will make between 10,000-20,000 commemorative balls that will be sold by retailers nationwide and at the game site.

Since 1941, Wilson has made every football used by the league. Its factory in Ada has been making the official game balls since 1955. This year the company opened a new plant in the village that allows for more production and a museum. Fans can tour the factory, too.


(AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)