The NFL is laying groundwork for hiring replacement officials this season if the league is unable to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association, according to emails reviewed Wednesday by ESPN.
The proposed approach is similar to what the NFL carried out during a 2012 lockout of officials, which extended 110 days and ended after the third week of the regular season. The current CBA is due to expire at the end of May.
According to the emails, the league is looking for a list of about 150 mostly small college officials by the end of this weekend. Those officials could begin onboarding as early as April then attend a four-day clinic in May. Absent a CBA agreement, they would continue training through the summer and make visits to training camps before the regular season begins.
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The NFL declined comment.
NFLRA executive director Scott Green said the contingency plan raises two key issues:
The first is what Green believes would be an increased vulnerability to gamblers among replacement officials. The second, Green said, is the safety of players in games covered by officials who have not previously experienced the size and speed of the NFL game.
“Frankly,” Green said, “I’m surprised they would even consider it after 2012.”
The NFL’s use of replacement officials in 2012 was universally criticized by coaches and players, in part because it dipped into lower-level colleges and minor professional leagues, including the Arena League. The final game before the agreement ended with a chaotic “Fail Mary” ruling that granted the Seattle Seahawks a 14-12 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter earlier this month that “frustration is mounting” among owners over the state of negotiations with the NFLRA.
The NFL said last year in a memo that it “remained focused on implementing changes to the agreement in ways that will improve the performance of our game officials, increase accountability, and ensure that the highest-performing officials are officiating our highest profile games.” The NFLRA, however, wants to preserve the status quo or, in some cases, roll back the league’s access to working with game officials.
Pro Football Talk first reported the league’s efforts to pursue a list of possible replacement officials.
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