NFL officiating is a weekly talking point. It has been for years, mostly because of its continued shortcomings that are consistently magnified on social media.
Bridging the gap between the level of on-field play and the level of refereeing remains a priority.
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The league is pushing for a performance-based officiating model, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who, along with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, reported that NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent informed teams Wednesday that the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association ends in May.
Pelissero noted the date of expiration as May 31 and the date of the next negotiating session as Dec. 30. He also said that Vincent told owners that talks on a new deal have been unsuccessful to this point.
Both Pelissero and Schefter reported that the league sees this negotiation period as an opportunity to improve officiating, including through increased accessibility and accountability, pending union agreement.
Pelissero outlined the the NFL’s areas of focus in a new CBA with officials:
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Tying compensation to performance
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Greater flexibility giving the best-performing officials postseason assignments
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Access to more practice reps
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Extended probationary period to assess new game officials and flexibility to remove those who are underperforming
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Shortening the “dead period” that currently runs from the Super Bowl through May 15
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Increasing the number of game officials to develop a deeper bench
As for that dead period, Schefter explained that, at the moment, the NFL can’t speak to officials from the day after the Super Bowl until May 15.
The league is looking for year-round access to referees, per Schefter.
While it appears as if the NFL will keep its foot on the gas, there’s also the importance of coming to some kind of agreement before the start of next season.
After all, the league doesn’t want another replacement refs situation. The most recent one occurred in 2012 when the lockout of NFL officials followed the previous season’s lockout of NFL players.
In that instance, the replacement refs were used for three weeks of the regular season, a stretch that culminated with the infamous “Fail Mary,” the ruling on which incorrectly rewarded the Seattle Seahawks with a game-winning touchdown reception against the Green Bay Packers on “Monday Night Football.”
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Pelissero relayed a statement Wednesday evening from NFL Referees Association executive director Scott Green.
“Our union’s negotiating committee is working diligently on behalf of members, and we will continue to respect that process,” Green said in the statement, per Pelissero. “We look forward to our continued conversations with the league as we make progress towards a new CBA.”
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