I don't know that they do, but I don't recall seeing players being flagged for throwing the ball into the stands. They do get fined for it if they THROW it in the stands, but if they hand it to someone, no fine to my knowledge.
When you toss the ball into the stands, you're not delaying the game.
When you toss the ball down the field, the officials have to hunt it down, and bring it back to spot the ball, thus delaying the game.
Just basing this off observations, I have no laws or anything to support it.
Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool