NFL Lays out how footballs will be guarded in Super Bowl -- Security Today

NFL Lays out how footballs will be guarded in Super Bowl

By Matt Holden
Jan 30, 2015

The NFL will add extra security in order to watch over the footballs during Super Bowl XLIX, due to recent controversy surrounding the New England Patriots and whether or not the team tried to gain an advantage by deflating some of the balls.

In a typical NFL game each team has 12 footballs that they use. In the Super Bowl however, each team has 54.

"The thing with the Super Bowl is during the first half, we rotate footballs in as much as possible, because then those balls are used for charity and NFL auction," said Dean Blandino, the league's vice president of officiating. "So that's something that's been in place for many years at the Super Bowl."

An additional wrinkle will be added to the exchange between the NFL and each team regarding their footballs, in order to try and alleviate any potential wrong doing. In the days leading up to the game Tony Medlin will be in control of the balls. He is the equipment manager for the Chicago Bears, and therefore a neutral party.

About the Author

Matt Holden is an Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media, Inc. He received his MFA and BA in journalism from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He currently writes and edits for Occupational Health & Safety magazine, and Security Today.

Featured

Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now
- Cybersecurity
ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard
- Guard Services
Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now
- Cybersecurity
Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now
- Cybersecurity
AI Is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security, IT Leaders

Arctic Wolf recently published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2025 Trends Report, offering insights from a global survey of more than 1,200 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers across 15 countries. Conducted by Sapio Research, the report captures the realities, risks, and readiness strategies shaping the modern security landscape. Read Now
- Cybersecurity

Security Today eNews

Sign up today for essential industry news and product information that can help you stay afloat in the fast-paced world of security.

Email Address*Country*

Please type the letters/numbers you see above.

Webinars

Whitepapers

New Products

QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.
Luma x20

Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”
Unified VMS

AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities