NFL Laying Groundwork for Possibly Hiring Replacement Officials This Season
It’s happening… again. The National Football League could soon be searching for some outside help when it comes to officiating duties. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the NFL is laying groundwork for possibly hiring replacement officials for this upcoming season. Why?
Adam Schefter reported on this league situation stating, “The NFL is laying groundwork for hiring replacement officials this season if the league is unable to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association.”
Many football fans can still remember the great blunder of 2012. The very chaotic “Fail Mary” ruling that granted the Seattle Seahawks a 14-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Yet, here we all are some 14 years later, as history could possibly repeat itself.
ESPNs Kevin Seifert shared more regarding this latest NFL development. Seifert mentioned,
“According to the emails, the league is looking for a list of about 150 mostly small college officials by the end of this weekend. Those officials could begin onboarding as early as April then attend a four-day clinic in May. Absent a CBA agreement, they would continue training through the summer and make visits to training camps before the regular season begins.
The proposed approach is similar to what the NFL carried out during a 2012 lockout of officials, which extended 110 days and ended after the third week of the regular season. The current CBA is due to expire at the end of May.
The NFL said last year in a memo that it “remained focused on implementing changes to the agreement in ways that will improve the performance of our game officials, increase accountability, and ensure that the highest-performing officials are officiating our highest profile games.”
NFL Laying Groundwork for Possibly Hiring Replacement Officials This Season
So far, the NFL has declined to comment on the situation. However, time is ticking. March is flying by and April is around the corner. With the collective bargaining agreement ending in May; time is of the essence to resolve this matter.
Nonetheless, as for the referees’ union, they remain resolute in their position. The union wants to preserve the status quo or, in some cases, roll back the league’s access to working with game officials. The league held committee meetings the first week of March in Palm Beach, Florida. Where owners were updated on the status of the talks on a deal to replace the expiring CBA. However, sources revealed the negotiations were unfortunately not in a good place. Therefore, we will wait to see how this all plays out
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