NFL to Begin Hiring, Training Replacement Officials as Potential Ref Lockout Nears

The NFL is moving forward with plans to begin hiring and training replacement officials in the next several weeks because negotiations with the referees’ union have been unsuccessful, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the conversations are private. The league and the NFL Referees Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31. The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, but the NFLRA wants 10% plus $2.5 million for marketing fees, the people said. The league wants compensation tied to performance so that only high-performing game officials during the regular season share in the year-end bonus pool. The league is also seeking greater flexibility to ensure the best officials are on the field during the postseason. The current CBA includes seniority as a factor in making postseason assignments. Shortening the “dark period” is also a priority for the NFL. Currently, the league has no communication with game officials during the roughly three-month stretch between the Super Bowl and May 15. The goal is to increase access to game officials for rules discussions, video review, mechanics and appropriate football operations and committee meetings in order to improve the game and officials’ performance. The NFL is offering to hire some full-time officials, but one of the people said the union is resisting and is asking for “full-time pay and part-time hours.” “Apparently ‘League sources’ are continuing to put out false and misleading information instead of wanting to meet at the negotiating table,” NFLRA executive director Scott Green said in a statement. “The bottom line is our officials work for the wealthiest sports league in America, with profits that far exceed any of the others. That’s normally a point of pride for the NFL. However, our officials are substantially under-compensated when compared to baseball and basketball umpires and referees. Our officials also aren’t provided the health care benefits that those at 345 Park Avenue have. “As far as performance pay, we had ‘high performing officials’ who worked this year’s championship games and the Super Bowl who were paid less for those games than what they were paid for a regular-season game. That certainly isn’t rewarding performance, as the NFL claims is their goal.” In preparation for potential use of replacement officials, the NFL competition committee has proposed a contingency that would allow the replay center in New York to advise the on-field officials on any missed roughing the passer or intentional grounding penalty, as well as any act that would have led to an ejection had a penalty been called. NFL owners will vote on the proposal this week at the annual meeting. The NFL used replacement officials for the first three weeks of the 2012 season and resulted in several mistakes and wrong calls, including the disputed TD catch known as the “Fail Mary.” Reporting by The Associated Press.