A DENTED chocolate football created by a Pennsylvania candy maker to poke fun at the New England Patriots’ “Deflategate” scandal has ended up raising US$20,000 for charity.

    The ball created by Sarris Candies of Canonsburg was auctioned off Friday on KDKA radio to benefit the Dollar Energy Fund, which provides utility assistance for poor residents.

    A local car dealer bid US$5,000 for the chocolate ball, and that price was matched by candy maker Bill Sarris, whose business is about 15 miles (24 km) south of Pittsburgh. The chocolate football was molded with a dent to make it appear deflated.

    Sarris named the ball the Bradie ball — a reference to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady but with a different spelling to avoid legal issues. A caption on the Facebook photo was a tongue-in-cheek reference to allegations that New England cheated by using underinflated footballs in winning the AFC Championship game, which put the team in Sunday’s Super Bowl.(SD-Agencies)