The base is threaded so it can be screwed into the ball. The needle has a slanted end that fits into the base. Yes, you can deflate footballs very easily. In fact, this is something many grassroots football coaches do every week, as it saves space in bags and car boots.

Deflategate was the term used to refer to the scandal and the corresponding investigation into allegations Brady and the Patriots broke NFL rules bydeflatingfootballs duringthe 2014 AFC title game against the Indianapolis Colts. It was around this time seven years ago that the NFL was engulfed with a growing controversy surrounding deflated footballs and the New England Patriots. What ultimately ended up being famously dubbed Deflategate centered around allegations that New England was using deflated footballs during the first half of the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts.Kraft stated at a news conference that "I was wrong to put my faith in the league" and apologized to the team's fans for accepting the "harshest penalty in history of NFL for an alleged ball violation" because he thought that cooperating would help exonerate Brady. [92] [93]

Manfred, Tony (January 21, 2015). "Why Using Deflated Footballs Gave The Patriots A Huge Advantage". businessinsider.com. Business Insider . Retrieved December 29, 2020. Dubin, Jared (January 20, 2015). "Report: NFL finds 11 footballs were under-inflated in AFC title game". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015 . Retrieved January 21, 2015. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Wells Jr., Theodore V.; Karp, Brad S.; Reisner, Lorin L. (May 6, 2015). "INVESTIGATIVE REPORT CONCERNING FOOTBALLS USED DURING THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ON JANUARY 18, 2015" (PDF). NFL.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC . Retrieved December 18, 2018. Caffrey, Dan (September 17, 2015). " "Stunning And Brave" – South Park – TV Review". The A.V. Club . Retrieved September 17, 2015. On May 14, the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) filed an appeal of Brady's four-game suspension. [78] The NFL also announced that Roger Goodell would preside over Brady's appeal, despite objections from the NFLPA, which requested a neutral arbitrator. [79]Darren Hartwell (October 18, 2015). "ESPN Attempts To Troll Patriots With Lame Tweet, Gets Destroyed". NESN . Retrieved October 21, 2015. Additional information could add to the fallout. But if anything, the Astros got off easy for measures that could have substantively contributed to a championship. Crane retained ownership, the franchise kept its World Series title and none of the players involved faced discipline. NFL PrimeTime on ESPN+ Mike Downey (January 23, 2015). "Deflate-gate: Will the air go out of a phony scandal?". CNN.com . Retrieved February 27, 2015. Don Melvin. "Tom Brady's 'Deflategate' appeal hearing ends after 10 hours". CNN.com . Retrieved June 23, 2015.

Rush Limbaugh (January 21, 2015). "The NFL's Big Ball Problem". rushlimbaugh.com . Retrieved January 24, 2015. Find a ballpoint pen or other thin, straight piece of metal that is smaller than the diameter of the valve on your football. Moisten the object with saliva, water, or coconut oil. Insert the object slowly into the valve, being careful not to damage it or puncture the bladder. Press down gently and steadily on the object to release the air.Meghan Keneally; Susanna Kim; Aaron Katersky (January 19, 2015). "Deflate-Gate: New England Patriots Coach Says Team Will Cooperate With Probers". ABC News . Retrieved April 12, 2015. Belson, Ken. "Brady vows to fight suspension, says he 'did nothing wrong' in Deflategate scandal". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail . Retrieved July 29, 2015. [ dead link] HeadSmart Labs found that similar weather changes caused an average 1.8 psi drop in football pressure. [31] They also reported that the air in an electric pump could reach 130°F. The NFL requires that all game footballs be inflated to a pressure between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch (psi), and that they weigh 14 to 15 ounces (397 to 425 grams), ESPN reported. The footballs in the playoff game were underinflated by 2 psi. The balls were reinflated and used during the second half, and the balls' pressures were measured again after the game, but those test results have not yet been released, ESPN reported.

No issues were raised on the pressure of the footballs used in the second half. [22] [23] The pressures of four of the Colts' footballs were measured at halftime using two gauges, and were found to be within regulation on one of the two gauges, but not on the other gauge. The remainder were not measured because, according to the Wells Report, "the officials were running out of time before the start of the second half." Make sure the ball is completely deflated before attempting to remove the needle or valve tool to avoid injury.The only caveat is that we must measure both quantities on an absolute scale. This means using Kelvin units for temperature and accounting for atmospheric pressure, since ball pressure is actually measured as only the amount of pressure above atmospheric pressure. The Ball must be a "Wilson," hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell, " the rule in question begins in a faintly ridiculous manner. Howe, Jeff (January 29, 2015). "Dean Blandino: Referee doesn't document football PSI levels". Boston Herald . Retrieved January 29, 2015. Hubbuch, Bart (December 14, 2016). "The NFL, Giants and Steelers are trying to kill Deflategate II". New York Post . Retrieved December 18, 2018. The Patriots even submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Brady, who filed a federal lawsuit against the league to overturn his suspension, straddling the line between NFL stakeholder and whistleblower. (Brady got his suspension overturned in 2015 but ultimately lost on appeal and served the punishment in 2016.)