The NFL has concluded that 11 of the 12 game balls used by the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game were underinflated, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
The NFL's investigation revealed that the footballs in question were two pounds per square inch below league regulations. The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 while using the underinflated footballs.
"We are not commenting at this time," said Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of communications.
Several league officials have refused to make any concrete statements on the matter. Troy Vincent, the NFL's senior executive vice president of football operations, told The Associated Press that the "investigation is currently underway, and we're still awaiting findings." He told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Tuesday that the league expected to finish its investigation in "two or three days."
Fans have been wondering if the Patriots will face any punishment, but it is still unknown at this time whether or not the league will impose any penalties on the team. One of Mortensen's sources said that the NFL was "disappointed...angry...distraught" after reviewing their findings.
The NFL will continue to look into how the 11 footballs became underinflated.
Each team received game balls for pre-game warm-ups that were required to be "inspected and approved" by referee Walt Anderson shortly before kickoff. Under league policy, no changes or swaps of footballs can be made following referee approval.
Normally, an NFL football is required to be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch and weigh between 14 and 15 ounces, according to Mortensen.
"We have been in complete cooperation with the league and will continue to do so," New England spokesman Stacey James said.
"Deflating a football can change the way it's gripped by a player or the way it travels through the air," Mortensen wrote.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters that he intends to "cooperate fully with whatever the league wants us to, whatever questions they ask."
"Deflate Gate," as it's being called, will certainly stir up memories of the 2007 season, in which Belichick was fined $500,000 for enlisting an assistant to video tape defensive signals of the New York Jets.
