Avoiding Another 2012: Why the NFL and Its Officials Must Get This Negotiation Right

Editor’s note: The NFLRA offered this piece to Sports Illustrated. The NFL was offered the opportunity to present its views as well, but declined at this time.

By Scott H. Green, Executive Director, NFL Referees Association

For the past 20 years, I have been directly involved in collective bargaining negotiations between the National Football League and the NFL Referees Association—first as an on-field official and board member, and now as the union’s executive director.

Some negotiations have gone smoothly. One did not.

The last time talks broke down, in 2012, the result was a 110-day lockout of NFL officials when replacement referees were used, which created anger among players, coaches and fans. It culminated in one of the most infamous moments in league history, the “Fail Mary play,” when the wrong team was declared the winner of a nationally televised game.

With the current agreement set to expire on May 31, we are frequently asked how negotiations are going. My answer is simple:

Right now, it doesn’t feel like 2006 or 2019—but more like 2012.

No one involved in the game should want to see that happen again.

The officials I represent take great pride in their role in the game and want nothing more than to see these negotiations resolved constructively. Our membership remains unified and supportive of our negotiating team. But after numerous meetings with league representatives this year—and after reading several inaccurate and false claims attributed to the league in the media—it may be helpful to address a few of these.

MYTH: NFL officials aren’t concerned about improving their performance

That is frankly the most ridiculous misdirection being pushed. NFL officials spend countless hours reviewing video, studying rules and training physically to perform at the highest level. In fact, we are currently proposing a performance program that would fund all officials’ attendance at at least two preseason team training camps to work with their crews, players and coaches. Also, our program requires officials to attend three in-season clinics, during which rules, foul recognition and consistency among crews will be the primary topics. Unfortunately, because the league cut the budget for these clinics last year, they now need to be permanent in the CBA. Additionally, the 2019 CBA includes a provision in which the league and the NFL Referees Association would jointly agree to develop a training and development program designed specifically to improve officiating performance.

Six years later, and under three different vice presidents for training and development, the program has yet to be created or implemented, primarily due to NFL staffing limitations. The commitment to that program is something we continue to believe would benefit the game if fully implemented.

MYTH: Officials want too much money

This claim is difficult to reconcile with the league’s extraordinary economic success. The National Football League has publicly discussed reaching $25 billion in annual revenue by 2027, while franchise values have continued to rise by an estimated $2.5 billion annually, and the salary cap for players has gone up an average of 10% per year since 2022. Meanwhile, some officials who worked the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, based on their performance during this season, were paid less for those games than they were for a regular-season game.

Our officials should certainly be paid comparably to those in other professional sports, which they are not. From preseason through the Super Bowl, players, coaches and officials participate in roughly the same number of games, and every one of those games contributes to the league’s success, and all should be adequately compensated.

MYTH: Make the officials full time

The time, effort and schedule that professional NFL officials work do not justify calling them anything other than full time. But, depending on how “full-time” is defined, both the 2012 and 2019 CBA agreements included provisions allowing some officials to serve in full-time roles. The league experimented with several versions of that concept in 2017, 2019 and 2020, but each program ended within months due to poor management.

If the NFL wants to pursue a different classification for some officials, they need to be fairly compensated, receive health care benefits—which officials currently do not—and retain the ability to remain members of the NFLRA with union protections.

MYTH: The NFLRA resists technology

We have readily embraced technology when it can improve accuracy and efficiency. Our officials regularly participate in discussions with the league’s competition committee regarding rule changes, mechanics and ways technology might assist officiating.

But embracing technology also means ensuring the right people are interpreting and applying it. For example, standard operating procedures for Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have required active officials to rotate through centralized replay operations every week to assist in reviewing and ruling on plays. In fact, MLB players demanded that active umpires be involved in the process.

That is not currently the case in the NFL. On many Sundays, those reviewing plays in the league’s command center include former assistant coaches and league staff members, but no one who has officiated NFL games.

When critical decisions affecting game outcomes are made in real time, the perspective of someone who has officiated those situations on the field can be invaluable.

Where things stand

Negotiations have been conducted primarily with the league’s legal counsel and his staff, who have indicated limitations on economic decision-making. In past negotiations, direct involvement from league leadership helped move the process forward. During 2012, officials eventually met with the owners and the commissioner. In 2019, final issues were resolved with the league’s head of football operations involved. None of them has yet to participate directly in negotiations with our team. We believe their engagement would make a difference, and we welcome it.

We remain hopeful that progress will be made in our meetings, as everyone involved with the game benefits when professional officials who are the best in the world are on the field and supported with the resources necessary to perform at the highest level.

With the current agreement set to expire on May 31, there is still time to reach a constructive solution.

But as the deadline approaches, one thing becomes increasingly clear:

No one in the NFL, from owners to coaches, players, officials and fans, should want to relive 2012.