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Rule Two, Section One of the NFL Rule Book states game footballs “shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game.”
However, according to the Wells Report, when it came time for referee Walt Anderson and the officiating staff to take the game balls to the ball boys on the field 15 minutes before the AFC Championship game in January, the footballs were missing.
According to the report, Patriots officials locker room attendant Jim McNally took the footballs on to the field without the officials’ permission after bringing them into a bathroom for about 100 seconds.