As soon as this year's Super Bowl matchup was set, workers at the Wilson Sporting Goods football factory in Ada, Ohio, sprang into action. The factory, which produces game balls for every NFL team, as well as many top college and high school programs, is gearing up for the big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
For the Super Bowl, each team will receive 108 footballs, along with an additional dozen for the kickers, all bearing the Super Bowl logo and team names. The quarterbacks will select the best balls for the game, with some reserved for practices. Approximately 50 balls per team will be securely stored until kickoff.
Wilson manufactures five different sizes of footballs for players of all levels, with NFL balls distinguished by their lack of end stripes and embedded tracking chips that monitor various metrics like ball position and trajectory.
The football production process typically takes three days, but for the Super Bowl, the initial batch must be delivered to the teams within 18 hours of completion to allow for proper breaking in. The meticulous 20-step process involves skilled workers handcrafting the balls, from cutting leather panels to stitching and lacing.
Each football undergoes rigorous quality checks throughout production, with approximately 50 workers handling each ball before packaging. The factory produces around 500,000 footballs annually, with NFL teams using several hundred per season. For the Super Bowl, Wilson will create between 10,000-20,000 commemorative balls for sale nationwide and at the game venue.
Wilson has been the exclusive supplier of NFL footballs since 1941, with the Ada factory producing official game balls since 1955. The company recently opened a new plant in the village, allowing for increased production capacity and featuring a museum for fans to explore.
