Footballs straight out of the factory are quite different from those used in real NFL games. And it’s the equipment team’s responsibility to make them game-ready. Luckily for us, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers equipment department shared a short Instagram video showcasing that arduous mud-rubbing process that goes into preparing each ball.
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Brad Berlin, the Bucs’ equipment director since 2016, has extensive experience with preparing new footballs, ensuring they’re rubbed down the correct way. Berlin took the time to explain the process, which often goes overlooked. It begins, as you might expect, with getting the ball from the factory.
“There’s a film that’s been applied to that (a new ball) to help with weatherproofing the ball if it rains,” Berlin further explained. “We take that off. As soon as the ball comes in, we take that film off… We actually use baseball rubbing mud, just like they use in MLB. And some leather conditioner.”
Baseball rubbing mud has been used to prepare MLB baseballs for over 40 years. The mud is sourced from the New Jersey side of the Delaware River in the USA. It helps improve grip for pitchers and fielders while dulling the bright white shine of the ball.
In football, the mud has the same effect. It significantly improves the grip a quarterback has on the ball and allows them to have more accuracy. The mud also dampens the red color of the ball, turning it into the classic dark brown commonly seen on Sundays.
Berlin explained why they wanted the color of the ball to look brown with a visual explanation: “What’s happened here is this is very slick,” Berlin says as he points to the red factory ball.
Even the girl watching the presentation agrees it’s very slippery to touch. “So, the process to transform it to this (a game ball) is a lot of rubbing to get the pebbles to lay down a bit more. The friction and the heat from the brush create the tack- the natural tack of the leather,” Berlin continued.
Did you know how an NFL football is prepared? pic.twitter.com/jjoXV0EsIa
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 4, 2025
It’s a bit of a nerdy explanation about the nitty-gritty of leather, but interesting nonetheless. When leather enters a factory, it is often tanned before being shaped, which causes the leather to form pebble-like textures. While it may look appealing, tanned leather lacks grip. The only way to restore that grip is by pressing the leather back down, allowing the natural tack to emerge and making the ball sticky.
Berlin ended the presentation by talking about how they try to preserve the balls for as long as possible. The equipment team recognizes that balls are going to be lost to the crowd, milestones, or even out of damage. But if they can retrieve it, they will reuse it. It’s not entirely out of the ordinary for some balls to be reused for multiple weeks.
Even so, about 48 different balls are used every NFL game, with 6-12 being reserved just for the kickers. Just remember, the next time you’re watching a game and you see a football, it was rubbed down by a very hard-working team staffer just before the game.
