Sources: NFL command center might assist if replacement refs used

The NFL’s preliminary plans for hiring and using replacement officials this season includes a significant shift of responsibility for game administration and even penalty calls to the league office, sources said Thursday.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFL Referees Association is set to expire May 31. Negotiations have reached a stalemate, prompting the league to begin contacting college officiating supervisors to compile a list of approximately 150 officials to serve as replacements. To help mitigate their inexperience at the NFL level, the league’s competition committee is finalizing a series of contingent rule changes that would allow league employees at the Art McNally Gameday Central command center in New York City to enforce health and safety penalties, among others, sources said — an aggressive move toward centralized officiating after years of small steps.

Those rule proposals will be discussed at the league’s annual meeting, which begins March 29 in Phoenix. In the league’s first public comment on the matter, NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said in a statement the league has been “compelled” to begin considering contingencies. The statement also made clear that the league is seeking changes to some longstanding practices around officiating performance.

“In almost two years of negotiations,” Miller said in the statement, “the union has made no effort to work with us on a goal we should all share — ensuring an officiating culture that’s centered around performance and accountability. Over the course of that period, we have made numerous proposals that reflect a commitment to rewarding performance, while the union has refused to engage at all on economics. Their focus has centered on demands unrelated to improving the game, such as marketing fees and travel perks.

“We will continue to engage at the bargaining table in the hope of reaching an agreement that strengthens officiating overall and is ultimately best for the game. However, given the union’s refusal to discuss material terms and the rapidly approaching expiration of the current agreement, we have been compelled to take steps to ensure football continues uninterrupted this season.”

The search for replacement officials has focused mostly on lower-level college conferences, but sources said the league is casting a wide net. In 2012, the NFL used college, high school and semi-pro officials during an NFLRA lockout that lasted 110 days and ended in Week 4 of the regular season. The sides later agreed on a CBA extension in 2019, well ahead of its 2020 expiration.

NFLRA executive director Scott Green said Wednesday that he was surprised the NFL would consider replacement officials considering its experience during the 2012 season. Green also said he raised two issues with the league: an increased vulnerability to gamblers among replacement officials and the safety of players in games covered by officials who have not previously experienced the size and speed of the game.

Sources said the NFL believes its command center can mitigate concerns about enforcement of safety rules. Meanwhile, its plan to hire replacement officials includes an onboarding process that will begin in May and give the league time to vet each applicant’s background well ahead of when they would first interact with players and coaches during training camp.

NFL officials are not full-time employees of the league. According to sources, the average NFL official last season earned about $350,000 annually as part of a multi-pronged compensation structure that includes game fees, bonuses, meeting fees, preparation fees and other benefits. The NFL has offered a 10% increase in game fees across the board in the regular season and up to 30% for those who work the Super Bowl, the sources said. There have been no substantive negotiations on the merits of those proposals.

The NFL is also seeking to redirect annual bonus money toward high-performing officials and increase the probationary period for new officials, which currently stands at three years. The NFLRA is looking to shorten the probation period, ESPN’s Kayln Kahler reported.

The sides spent time last fall discussing travel fees, sources said, such as allowing officials to bring friends and family to international games.