Which “It”? Use of unidentified pronouns has muddied the conversation almost as much as the completely contradictory reports.
The precedent penalty is...a reminder note. The Vikings, for example, we’re caught on camera heating balls during a cold game just this year. Aaron Rogers claimed in November that he pumps the balls up beyond the guidelines because he likes the ball even harder...and pretty strongly implies that those balls regularly make it through “inspection”.
Theisman personally experimented with ball inflations and said he can’t tell the difference in the range being discussed, as have others. Anything above 10 PSI is just plain hard.
No one on the field apparently noticed any difference when the Pats used the Colt ball in the firs half (per Colt LB), or when they used the balls inflated at half-time.
Subjective opinions aside, the rules were violated, measured by two objective pressure gauges.
I was unaware of the Vikings heating the ball on a cold day, and don’t know the rules regarding that, if the rules were broken, the penalties should result.
As for the “no one can feel a difference” etc etc, why did they do it? For no reason? Unlikely.