NFL Refs Ratify New Deal With League, Avoiding Replacement Officials

The NFL will avoid the return of replacement officials after all.

The NFL and NFLRA have agreed on a new CBA. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Replacement referees will not be returning to the NFL this fall.

Per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the NFL Referees Association ratified a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement with the NFL on Friday which will run through the 2032 season.

The final vote among NFLRA members was a whopping 116-4 in favor of the new collective bargaining agreement. Fair to say the officials are happy with their bargaining committee. https://t.co/UQITravzCo

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 8, 2026

The NFL and NFLRA had been in negotiations on a new CBA for two years, but as of March, little progress had been made as the two sides sought to find common ground on a number of areas from pay to the offseason dead period for referees and performance standards. The previous CBA was set to expire at the end of May, leaving limited time for the two sides to agree on a new deal. As of late, negotiations picked up and progressed far enough that the NFLRA decided to hold a vote, which has culminated in a new CBA. Per Breer, the NFLRA voted 116-4 in favor of the CBA, securing the agreement before OTAs and training camp take place this spring and summer.

“This agreement is a testament to the joint commitment of the league and union to invest in and improve officiating,” said NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent in a statement. “It also speaks to the game officials’ relentless pursuit of improvement and officiating excellence. We look forward to working together for the betterment of the game.” 

More importantly, the new CBA ensures that replacement referees will not return 12 years after they took the field to disastrous effect at the start of the 2012 season. Beyond the infamous Fail Mary, there were a number of other costly officiating mistakes that took place because of the inexperience of the replacement referees, from Jim Harbaugh being awarded extra challenges or the Seahawks mistakenly receiving an additional timeout.

Amid the uncertainty of whether a new CBA would come to fruition, the NFL began looking into hiring replacement officials from the Division II and Division III college ranks. NFL owners also passed a measure to centralize more officiating in New York, allowing staff from the command center in New York to speak with replacement referees on the field about called or missed penalties. With a new CBA done, this will no longer need to go in effect.

Fortunately, the league will avoid the return of replacement referees. Still, there is plenty of room for officiating to improve and become more consistent, particularly after the NFL admitted they made the wrong call during a pivotal Steelers-Ravens game that held playoff implications, among a number of other controversial calls and no-calls that took place throughout the season. With a new CBA locked in months before the start of the season, there will be plenty of time for the league’s officials to become prepared for 2026, and hopefully better the officiating on the field.

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