Wilson "The Duke" Official NFL Game Football

This is the best football. Period. Yes, it can be more slippery than a composite. But, look at it this way, if you can learn to thrown and catch with these, you are going to be better overall. My son is a QB who has played youth, HS, and semi-pro and we go outside and play catch regularly and have literally worked with hundred of footballs. This is our favorite. It is the right size, and it just has such a great feel and perfect flight trajectory. You CAN definitely tell the difference. Also, both my son and I have just normal sized hands and we have no problem throwing. Anyone who has trouble throwing and believes it is hand size related just needs to put in more time on the throwing. Heck my son used to throw full NFL size balls when he was 10 with no problem. Technique is a huge part of it. When I bought this last (we buy 1 to 2 a year because we use and abuse the balls) I bought this one and the best quality composite because we wanted to compare them directly. There is no comparison. This one rocks and we NEVER use the composite when we play catch. We saw a little bit of the coloring come off on our hands in the beginning, but nothing significant. There is one review on here that would make you believe these things bleed color... that is just not the case. We originally bought the two balls thinking we would use The Duke in good weather and the composite in crappy weather... but really, we just use the Duke all the time. Ours is now about 8 months old and it is extra slippery from all the use, so I am on here about to order another one. These balls make playing catch a pleasure and if you can get over the price (which is not all that bad here really) you will not regret going with this ball. From the moment you unpack this ball, you know you are playing with the best equipment available. Love it.

I have bought 2 of these, about a year apart. They are leather and although I've never actually played NFL football, they do appear to be the exact game balls used in NFL games. One should realize, however, that when you receive the ball you purchase, it will not be broken in and game ready. In other words, Tom Brady would not want to use it during an AFC Championship against the Colts. Balls actually used for play are well broken in, shiny, tacky to the touch with great grip, and often much darker than the brand new ball you buy. Your new ball will be light in color, slippery, and covered with a red dye that will bleed if the ball gets wet. A little light wipe down with a wet cloth and maybe even some saddle soap will help remove the dye. Once your ball is dry, I suggest regulary rubbing it with a shoe polish brush (or Wilson's proprietary brush if you believe them) to bring it to a shine and give it that tacky feel like the pros expect. My 1 year old ball is much darker than my new ball and I believe it may simply be darkening with time, as I have followed the same break-in procedures for both. See pictures below. The first picture is before and after of the SAME BALL, broken-in (top) and untouched (bottom). The second picture is my 1 year old ball (left) next to my new, untouched ball (right). And the brush pictured is what you can use to dry rub the ball to bring its tacky feel back. Ultimately, the ball is the real deal, and that alone makes it awesome, but it also feels and plays like a great ball as long as you realize how to make it so.

If you love football and you want to have THE ball, then "The Duke" Wilson F1100 is the current, officially licensed NFL Game Ball for you. I had a hard time deciding to splurge and spend the $100 price tag, but as preseason training camps got closer, I started to feel the need for a real ball. Luckily I caught it on one of Amazon's good pricing days and picked it up for little over half that! So if price is an issue...watch and wait.All that said, the quality of the ball is like nothing I've seen in any other balls I've handled. You could smell the leather right out of the box! From the leather to the stitching to the embossing, this is one great ball. The points of the ball on mine are true to form. This is not a ball that you want to toss on pavement though. The preservation of the leather and the price of the ball for most, will dictate that you will want to use it on turf. Although it is quite large (come on - it's an NFL game ball what else would you expect), my kids are already trying to grip is right. For me, it feels great to just sit on the couch beer in one hand, ball in the other, smelling the leather during the game. That is if I can't be at the game!So if you are the fan, or you know someone who is die a hard fan and they want a football - don't get just any ball - get them "The Duke"!

Actual quality may vary. Nice leather but the logo is canted to the left and the laces match that logo tilt. Depending on how you hold the ball your grip needs to modify to stay on the same laces.

I had read some reviews about the balls seems being out of line and the ball being sticky and red staining when wet. All is true but not the seems being out of line at least for my purchase. There is a prepping processes that needs to take place before using this NFL Football.. Wilson Factory will brush a little bit of wax to make it tacky just like the NFL Quarterbacks do prior to using them. But the Equipment personnel for a specific NFL Quarterback will take it step further in prepping the footballs for a longer period of time and beat them up and also apply the WAX prior to using the footballs. You do have to wet the ball and wipe it more than once and brush it more than once just to get the left over tanning off, but once you have done all this the ball will look just like the one on TV and it will feel a lot better in your hands. Remember this is a leather ball and needs to be broken in for it to be a little softer. Did all this to mine and wow I Iove it.

ACHTUNG!Ich muss hier mal etwas klarstellen:Auf den Ball ist eine Wachsschicht aufgetragen. Diese sollte vor der ersten Benutzung entfernt werden. (Bürste und Handtuch, auf YouTube gibt es videos)Der Ball ist nicht wasseranfällig und hat wenn er nass ist sogar einen besseren Grip.Nach dem entfernen des Wachses den Ball mit ein bisschen Lederfett einreiben und trocknen lassen.(Für interessierte:Jeder NFL Ball geht durch einen langen Prozess bevor er in einem Spiel verwendet wird.2013 gab es von den New York Giants einen Artikel darüber.)Ja, es ist ein Lederball und hat deshalb auch ein paar flecken. Wenn ihr das nicht wollt dann kauft euch einen Ball vom Plastik Schwein.Da in anderen Kommentaren gesagt wurde der Ball ist nicht original:Auf den Orginalen Bällen befindet sich ein kleines 'W'.So könnt ihr erkennen ob es sich um einen echten Wilson Ball handelt.Hier noch etwas zu den Bildern:- in Verpackung mit Wachsschicht- ohne Verpackung ohne Wachs.- kleines 'W' auf dem Leder- Ball leicht eingefettetIch hoffe die Rezension hat ein paar Fragen beantworten.

Would recommend getting the conditioning kit and looking at videos online about how to break in the ball. The ball feels really beautiful in the hands and has loads of grip and even more grip when it's wet. The curvature of the ball is a bit more extreme than most which means you can get your hand behind it easier too, giving you more power. You may have to adjust your throw a little to use this ball because of its shape and its grip but you'll have a better throw in the end. This is a real quality product and you can tell when it's in your hands. Well worth the extra money. You almost won't want to use it because it's so nice.

Bought this for my girlfriend along with a jersey and she loved it, the ball is perfect and you can smell the real leather when you open it. The only thing we don't get is that is says made in USA and then some initials on it, (J.Z) and we have no idea what is stands for. Any help ?

Amazing ball. At first I was hesitant about the price, but once it arrived and I saw the quality it was totally worth it. Great product.must ensure the ball is wiped over with a warm damp cloth to remove all the product that protects the leather. You'll get red hands otherwise, but the ball will go darker and look like they do on tv.

Purchased this for my son who has become increasingly fascinated by American Football which is music to my ears. He loved it. Genuine through and through.