• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Fox’s Mike Pereira: We Don’t Need Full-Time NFL Referees

  • Full-time referees would not get enough games to hone their craft.
  • But Pat McAfee warns the league has a “massive officiating issue.”
NFL referees have had a tough time this season and work cut out at Super Bowl.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

GLENDALE, Arizona -– The NFL’s worst nightmare is for a Super Bowl to be decided by a terrible officiating call.

Despite the cascade of criticism directed at referees this season, Mike Pereira does not agree the league should make all of its game officials full-time employees.

Pereira is the most famous NFL zebra of all time. The former vice president of NFL officiating pioneered the role of on-air “rules analyst” after joining Fox in 2010. When he talks, the NFL world listens.

During an interview with Front Office Sports, Pereira admitted there were some “egregiously” bad calls this past season.

But he thinks the NFL should keep referees part-time, unlike MLB umpires or NBA refs.

“I’d say yes, it’s time if you can give me 60 games to work over the course of the year,” Pereira said. “I don’t believe that it’s time when you’re not going to get reps. To sit at home and do nothing else in the off-season except read a rulebook, answer test questions, or watch video? I don’t think that’s worth it.”

While many of the controversies this season have raged around “roughing the passer” penalties, officials threw more roughing flags protecting quarterbacks during 2021 than in the 2022 season, noted Pereira. 

Still, the NFL knows it has a problem on its hands, ESPN’s Adam Schefter told Pat McAfee after the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

“There is an issue with the officiating,” Schefter said on McAfee’s show. “And when you speak to people around the league, they believed it’s as bad as it’s been in a long time, maybe ever. If we go back to the one game that I think of is the Seahawks-Rams game, final regular season game, where the officials missed multiple calls that potentially influenced the outcome of that game.”

McAfee, a former NFL punter, also warned the league has a “massive officiating issue.” NFL officials working part-time could be part of the reason, he said.

“Full-time refs, optically, would just look much better to everybody. Because you have part-time refs, and they’re not full-time refs, there’s a chance they could be maybe swayed by somebody outside the NFL,” McAfee said.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL Draft Hits Historic Viewership Highs Thanks to Sanders Saga

Drama around the fall of Shedeur Sanders likely contributes to robust viewership.

NBA Playoffs TV Ratings Surge, With ESPN on Record Pace

The 11 NBA games that aired on ESPN or ABC averaged 4.45 million viewers.

Shedeur Sanders Has NFL’s No. 3 Rookie Jersey After Draft Slide

The fifth-round draft pick keeps making headlines.

Will Commanders Get Their Stadium? Public Funding Hangs in Balance

The NFL team will have an uphill battle with skeptical council members.

Featured Today

How DJ Adam Amin Mixes Baseball With Bangers

Amin is one of Fox’s top NFL and MLB voices.
Jun 21, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck holds the Larry O’Brien trophy prior to the Boston Celtics championship parade.
April 27, 2025

The Celtics Succession Plan Remains Murky

The transfer of power to a private-equity group is still unresolved.
April 26, 2025

The Rays Groundskeepers Are Adjusting to Life Outside the Dome

After nearly three decades in a dome, Tampa groundskeepers were forced outside.
April 25, 2025

The Former NBA Agent Who Became a Pickleball Deputy Commissioner

Chris Patrick went from representing Jimmy Butler to pickleball deputy commissioner.
exclusive

WME Looks to Sell Off Baseball Agency Due to Union Pressure

The situation arises as Endeavor is once again a private company.
April 28, 2025

NFL Shifts Spotlight to Schedule Release, 2027 Draft Host Cities

Final preparations are underway for revealing the 2025 schedule.
blue clay tennis court
April 28, 2025

Power Outage Halts Madrid Open Tennis Tournament

The major outage across Spain and Portugal suspended Monday’s matches.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Portfolio Players is our bi-weekly spotlight on the athletes and investors reshaping the business of sports. This week, venture capitalist Kai Cunningham unpacks why athletes land top deals and how the usual investing rules don’t always apply.
April 27, 2025

Green Bay NFL Draft Drew Huge Crowds As Well As TV Ratings

The final turnout smashed projections from the Packers and Green Bay officials.
April 26, 2025

The Fall to Fifth: Browns End NFL Draft Drama for Shedeur Sanders

The Colorado quarterback’s free fall is over.
April 25, 2025

Five QBs Drafted As Shedeur Sanders Slips to Fourth Round

Shedeur Sanders is still waiting after slipping out of the first round.
April 25, 2025

Ohio State’s $20M Roster Sends 7 Players to NFL in First Two..

The NIL-fueled title team had more draftees than all of the Big 12.