ESPN: The Patriots Used 11 Under Inflated Footballs

Chris Mortensen of ESPN is reporting, the NFL has found that 11 of the 12 footballs used by the New England Patriots in Sunday’s 45-7 AFC Championship Game were under-inflated by two pounds of air each.

The Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts for a trip to the Superbowl.

Here’s what the NFL game operations manual says regarding punishment for those guilty of under-inflating footballs, courtesy of Kevin Seifert of ESPN.

“If any individual alters the footballs, or if a non-approved ball is used in the game, the person responsible and, if appropriate, the head coach or other club personnel will be subject to discipline, including but not limited to, a fine of $25,000″ says the NFL game operations manual. h/t thescore

That penalty is meant as a guideline. Larger fines and potential forfeiture of draft choices are possible depending on the severity of the infraction.

Sadly, the game results will stand.