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The NFL’s plans to use replacement officials in the upcoming season are accelerating, as the league has detailed to teams more specifics about its alternate strategy.
In a new memo sent this week to all 32 teams, the league said it will begin training replacement officials in May, with a further goal of having them ready for organized team practice activities and mandatory minicamps in June. Each team is required to submit its OTA and minicamp schedules to the league by April 22, and those timetables will be used to assign officials to individual facilities beginning June 1.
The league’s latest moves are happening as it remains in a protracted labor dispute with the NFL Referees Association on a new agreement. The current pact expires May 31, and the two sides remain far apart on several key issues.
“The league remains committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement with the NFLRA but will be prepared in the event no agreement is reached prior to the expiration of the current agreement,” NFL SVP of officiating Perry Fewell wrote in the memo.
The pool of replacement officials will likely come from smaller colleges, as those already working in higher levels of collegiate play are not likely to want to potentially imperil their chances of eventually working in the NFL and joining the union.
Bigger Issues
At last week’s NFL annual meeting in Arizona, team owners approved a rule change for the 2026 season in which replacement officials, should they be used, will be able to consult with the NFL officiating department in real-time game situations and correct clear and obvious missed calls.
The NFL is seeking several changes with the union, including a heightened ability to work with officials during the offseason on training. The league is also seeing an increased probationary period for new officials and increased remediation provisions for poorly performing ones.
“This is an opportunity for us to improve the state of our officiating,” NFL EVP Jeff Miller said last week. “The owners were consistent in saying, ‘We’re more than happy to pay for performance.’ This was consistent through the course of the discussions over the last couple of days. But what they are insistent upon—insistent upon—is that performance of the officials and the accountability for their performance has to improve. And that’s where we are in these negotiations, and that’s exactly where we’re going to stay.”
The union, meanwhile, is pushing back on many of those proposals and is also seeking additional pay beyond the current average of $205,000.
“Our officials are substantially under-compensated compared to baseball and basketball umpires and referees,” the NFLRA said.
The NFL last used replacement officials in 2012. Back then, the league 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.
The rule change approved last week is designed to help avoid a repeat of that “Fail Mary” incident.
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