# Why has the NFL dropped the white lines from its footballs? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 26, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142 "2009-10-26T05:02:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/1 "2009-10-26T05:02:50Z")
Footballs used to have white lines on them. I’ve noticed that the NFL balls no longer have them. How come? ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/2 "2009-10-26T05:10:14Z")
Quarterbacks were complaining that the white stripes were slippery, making it easier to lose their grip on the ball. ---
**Author:** ![doverpro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@doverpro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doverpro)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/3 "2009-10-26T16:49:22Z")
NFL footballs have never had stripes except for Super Bowl VIII, and I don’t know the reason for that one-time change. Pictures of NFL football from all eras show a ball without stripes. An exception appears to be that the white footballs used for awhile by the league for night games in the 1950s may have had brown stripes. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/4 "2009-10-26T17:06:40Z")
College ball still has the white stripes, I do believe. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/5 "2009-10-26T17:23:03Z")
College balls have a stripe on the [top](http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/190393/ncaa-football-logo.jpg) [half](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/don_banks/10/22/draft/index.html) of the ball. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/6 "2009-10-26T17:23:32Z")
I don’t follow college ball but they use them to make the ball easier to pick up in flight. I thought the NFL used it for a while but am obviously confused because I definitely wasn’t thinking as far back as that Super Bowl. Thinking of CFL maybe but I’m pretty sure they still use the stripes. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/7 "2009-10-26T17:30:05Z")
Yeah, CFL has a stripe all the way around. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/8 "2009-10-26T17:44:29Z")
This was the subject of one of my very first questions on the SDMB years ago. I dug up the old thread, but it’s not really necessary to link to it–the reason given in that old thread was that the NFL football’s stripes made the ball slippery, much as already has been said here. It also said that NCAA wanted to keep the stripes on NCAA footballs for visual reasons–apparently not all college stadiums are as well lit as the pros. Interesting to dig up that old thread though! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/9 "2009-10-27T15:08:20Z")
Great minds think alike! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/10 "2009-10-27T16:37:06Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Great minds think alike! 😃 So, uh, are you guys thinking about Megan Fox riding naked on the back of a fire-breathing unicorn too? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/11 "2009-10-27T16:42:57Z")
Of course not. Their fetish is for smog-breathing monitor lizards. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-has-the-nfl-dropped-the-white-lines-from-its-footballs/515142/12 "2009-10-27T16:56:38Z")
Hmmph, great minds indeed.