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The NFL could move to replacement officials, as it controversially did in 2012, if it is unable to reach a new labor agreement with the NFL Referees Association.
Similar to its moves from 14 years ago, the NFL is beginning to amass a list of potential replacement officials, mostly from small colleges, according to industry sources and multiple reports. That group could begin preparation with the NFL next month in advance of the regular season starting in September.
The current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLRA expires at the end of May.
If executed, the NFL faces a potential repeat of widespread issues from the start of that 2012 season, when it used lower-level college and minor pro league officials during a 110-day lockout of the NFLRA.
Most notably, that period included the infamous “Fail Mary” game in which a Week 3 contest on Monday Night Football between the Packers and Seahawks ended in a Seattle game-winning touchdown that the league later conceded involved an uncalled offensive pass interference penalty. Had that penalty been called, it would have ended the contest in a Green Bay victory. Instead, the Seahawks touchdown also included two referees standing right next to each other making opposing calls on the play.
Two days after that game, the NFL and NFLPA reached a deal, and league commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that the widespread attention “may have pushed the parties further along” toward the agreement. The Packers’ loss also helped lead the team to being the No. 3 seed in the 2012 playoffs instead of the No. 2 seed with a first-round bye. Green Bay then lost on the road to San Francisco in the divisional playoffs.
Referees at lower levels of football, no matter their experience, are generally not acclimated to the speed and size of NFL play. Other referees in major college play, particularly those who could potentially have a chance at reaching the NFL, did not break the union line back in 2012 for fear of being known as a scab, and almost certainly wouldn’t again now.
Additionally, the NFLRA is concerned that non-NFL referees could have a heightened vulnerability to gamblers, particularly as large-scale match-fixing scandals have rocked other leagues, including the NBA.
“Frankly, I’m surprised they would even consider it after 2012,” NFLRA executive director Scott Green told ESPN of the potential replacements.
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