The NFL is moving forward with plans to begin hiring and training replacement officials in the next several weeks after talks with the referees union have failed, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press.
Both people spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the discussions are private.
The league and the NFL Referees Association are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement through the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31.
The NFL has increased its offer to a 6.45% annual increase 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 to be tied to performance so that only high-performing game officials during the regular season can participate in the year-end bonus pool.
The league is also seeking more 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 approximately three-month period between the Super Bowl and May 15. The goal is to increase access to game officials to discuss rules, video reviews, mechanics and proper football operations and committee meetings 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 protesting and demanding “full-time pay and part-time hours.”
“Apparently ‘league sources’ are providing false and misleading information rather than meeting at the negotiating table,” NFLRA executive director Scott Green said in a statement. “The bottom line is that our officials work for America’s wealthiest sports league, whose profits far exceed any other league. This is generally a point of pride for the NFL. However, our officials are compensated significantly less than baseball and basketball umpires and referees. Our officials are also not provided the health care benefits that the people at 345 Park Avenue get.
“As far as performance pay, we had ‘high performing executives’ who worked this year’s championship games and Super Bowl who were paid less for those games than they were for regular season games. This is certainly not rewarding performance, as the NFL claims is their goal.”
In preparation for the possible use of replacement officials, the NFL Competition Committee has proposed a contingency that would allow the Replay Center in New York to advise on-field officials of any missed or intentional grounding penalties with the passer, as well as any actions that could lead to an ejection. NFL owners will vote on the proposal at the annual meeting this week.
The NFL used replacement officials for the first three weeks of the 2012 season and this resulted in numerous mistakes and incorrect calls, including a controversial TD catch known as the “Fail Mary”.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
