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Kalyn Kahler
NFL teams were informed in a memo Wednesday that the collective bargaining agreement between the league and NFL Referees Association expires at the end of May, making this current season the final one of the existing agreement.
The memo, sent by NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and general counsel Larry Ferazani, stated that the league has been «engaged in bargaining with the NFLRA to extend the current agreement since the summer of 2024, and to date, those discussions have been unsuccessful.»
Vincent and Ferazani laid out the league’s priorities for a new CBA in the memo, noting, «The NFL has 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.»
Among the changes the league is bargaining for:
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Rewarding performance so that only high-performing game officials share in the year-end bonus period.
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More flexibility in postseason assignments. The current CBA weighs seniority as a factor in determining postseason assignments. The league believes «the best-performing officials should be on the field during the postseason.»
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A longer probationary period to assess new officials and «to gain flexibility in removing those who are underperforming.»
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Increased training and development for probationary and low-performing officials.
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Shortening the dead period when the league cannot contact the officials, which currently lasts from the Super Bowl until May 15.
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Creating a practice squad. The league says it is considering increasing the number of game officials to «develop a deeper bench.»
When reached by phone Wednesday, Scott Green, the executive director of the NFLRA, declined to comment on the league’s memo and the bargaining process.
«We look forward to discussing that with them,» Green told ESPN. «It’s not really helpful to do it by way of the media at this point.»
The last officiating lockout was in 2012 and lasted 110 days, ending after three weeks of controversial calls by replacement officials.
