Here’s exactly how the NFL will now handle footballs before every game

It’s been almost eight months since the AFC championship game, and deflate-gate is still raging on, but in the meantime the NFL has instituted rule changes in hopes of preventing another PSI-related controversy.

According to rule changes recently announced by the league, officials will now record PSI levels of all 24 footballs submitted by each team prior to the game and will usher the balls to the field for kickoff. Much of the deflate-gate drama has centered on referee Walt Anderson’s recollection of pressure gauge readings prior to the January playoff game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts as well as Patriots employee Jim McNally’s pregame pit stop in a Gillette Stadium bathroom with the game balls.

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Additionally, the balls will be inspected at halftime and following the final score of randomly selected games. (Read: Every Patriots game ever, probably.) For all of you interested in air pressure, here’s exactly how the footballs will be handled prior to every NFL game this season, according to the recent rule changes.

1. Wilson Sporting Goods will certify all pressure gauges prior to each season, providing every referee with one primary and one backup gauge. NFL Football Operations will have a supply as well, but the same gauge must be used for checking the PSI levels prior to, during or after a particular game.

2. A member of NFL security will oversee two game officials recording the PSI levels of all 24 footballs prepared by each team (12 primary and 12 backup) two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff. Balls between 12.5 and 13.5 PSI will be approved, and balls outside of that range will be set to 13.0 PSI.

3. Each ball will be numbered and stamped by the referee.

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4. A kicking ball coordinator, employed by the league, will assume custody of the balls until 10 minutes before kickoff, when he or she will be accompanied by a game official and a member of NFL security to the replay station. Security will then distribute 12 of the balls to each team’s crew.

5. At randomly selected games, the balls will be checked at halftime by game officials and NFL security, at which point the 12 backup balls — stored in the officials’ locker room — will be escorted to the field. The air pressure will also be checked at the end of randomly selected games.

6. The referee is required to submit all pressure readings to the NFL by noon the following day.

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In the past, officials did not number the balls or record PSI levels prior to games, the procedure was not overseen by NFL security, and the balls were not ushered to the sideline by a designated representative. Needless to say, these rules would have prevented deflate-gate had they been in place last season.