NFL needs full time dedicated officials

[DandyDon52]

This may get moved to NFL, but hope you leave it here for 1 day or so for people to see it.
Officials are part time, most if not all have a fulltime job m-f .
They get paid per game , not by season.

This allows for bias, and possible corruption.
They can make a big mistake, and then admit it, and it is ok.
Since they have another job losing the ref job is not as impactful as it would be if this were their only job.

I looked it up and here is some things on pay.
They make decent $ per game, but the most games they can do is 20?
With mon and thur nite games, I guess they could do more.

2011 NFL Referee Pay
ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports report that NFL game officials earned an average of $149,000 in 2011. Pay for NFL officials varies based on seniority, so some officials earned considerably more. Also, keep in mind that a number of NFL referees hold second jobs, ranging from practicing law to teaching school.

Future NFL Referee Pay
Based on the new contract between the NFL and the NFLRA signed in September 2012, NFL referees will earn an average of $173,000 in 2013, and move up to an average of $205,000 by 2019.
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NFL Referee Salary: How much do NFL referees make?
According to TheRichest.org, the average annual NFL referee salary is between $25,000 and $70,000 (2). The annual NFL referee salary differs widely depending on many extenuating factors, including experience and total amount of games officiated during a specific season. An NFL referee only receives pay for the games he or she actually oversees.

A career as an NFL referee is an optimal choice for those with a genuine passion for playing and watching American football. NFL referees must be in excellent physical condition and consistently maintain overall emotional composure. They must have the innate authority to control a fast-paced and sometimes stressful game.
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Also found one that said refs make from $1400 to $4000 per game depending on experience,
This sounds like alot, but times 10 is only $14,000 a year for some.

The other thing is if you work during the day on thursday, and then ref a game on Thur night, how
capable would you be ?
Or work all week and then on Sat fly to another city and ref a game in 20 degree weather, are you
really 100 % ?

I think they should be well paid and year round employees. and in off season they hone their skills.
It isnt a easy job, it is physical, and out in elements, rain snow cold heat.

The action on the field is much faster than it looks on tv.
We all know the rulebook sucks, and some plays cant be reviewed .

If a ref isnt sure , they should be able to stop and take a quick look at the play, like the face mask
in detroit game. That type thing should be re viewable.

Studying reviews is one thing they could do in off season, so that they can all look at same play
and make the same call.
like the dez play catch or no catch, you cant have 50-50 you need at least 90 % one way.

With the part time officials and part time work, and insane rulebook, it is all set uo to fail like it has .

Now maybe this is intentional, or just the NFL being cheap, I dont know.
In the old days the NFL did not make much money so part time officials made sense, but not anymore.

they need to be dedicated to just officiating NFL games, not being a lawyer and ref games part time.

 

[robjay04]

Don't blame the officials, blame the rule book. Nobody could get the calls right with a rule book so elaborate.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The NFL has people in it like Jerry Richardson who think in terms of keeping labor divided and would never go for increasing their power. If you make them full time employees it changes a lot of things with things like the NLRB and such. Someone is going to have to leverage that and who likes referees?

 

[Don Corleone]

Don't blame the officials, blame the rule book. Nobody could get the calls right with a rule book so elaborate.

But maybe the rules are written to allow some interpretation for shaping outcomes. The NFL is a muti billion dollar per year business. There is no way they aren't going to shape the outcomes.

The current product is exactly what the NFL wants!

 

[Risen Star]

It might not hurt to have younger officials.

 

[RS12]

NFL needs full time dedicated officials

Full time, part time, whatever. Get the calls right, period. They have 20 cameras at every game, shouldnt be as big of an issue as it is.

 

[KJJ]

You're never going to eliminate "judgement" from making calls. Some calls aren't clear cut with some seeing it one way and others seeing it another. There's no solution that will ever make everyone happy. Even in super slo-mo frame by frame HD replay some plays aren't clear cut so those calls will come down to the judgement of the officials.

 

[KJJ]

Full time, part time, whatever. Get the calls right, period. They have 20 cameras at every game, shouldnt be as big of an issue as it is.

Even with all the angles it's not always clear cut. It's never going to be the right call to those where the call doesn't go in their teams favor. I'm not saying the officiating doesn't need to be better but the way the rules are written play a big part in why a lot of calls are ruled the way they are. Even Blandino and Pereira saw the Golden Tate TD earlier in the season different. Blandino agreed with the call and Pereira didn't. A lot of calls are going to come down to judgement that will never change.

 

[links18]

Well, you need to be a lawyer to understand the rules, so maybe they should only hire lawyers.

 

[TwoDeep3]

What the NFL needs.

1. Clear cut rule for reception.
2. Clear cut rule for pass interference.
3. Two more refs on the field.
4. Video review with multiple angles.
5. Remove the ref from the broadcast booth to second guess the lay and incite the audience.

 

[DandyDon52]

What the NFL needs.

1. Clear cut rule for reception.
2. Clear cut rule for pass interference.
3. Two more refs on the field.
4. Video review with multiple angles.
5. Remove the ref from the broadcast booth to second guess the lay and incite the audience.

I like these, # 3 is good, and #5.
But younger and dedicated is a good thing.
I think as some have stated , the nfl may want it the way it is , but if they do it means manipulation of outcomes is desired.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

at $200K per year they should consider themselves full-time.

 

[black label]

What the NFL needs.

1. Clear cut rule for reception.
2. Clear cut rule for pass interference.
3. Two more refs on the field.
4. Video review with multiple angles.
5. Remove the ref from the broadcast booth to second guess the lay and incite the audience.

6.Hot refs

 

[AzCowboysFan]

I think they need full time with a salary, not paid per game, with off season training, testing(and simplification) of the rule book, maybe try the virtual reality programs that some teams are trying out. During the season, they should be getting together during the week, going over controversial/questionable situations and discussing those calls and how to deal with them or any other questions the refs may have. During a game, if 2 refs see something different, they should be allowed to review it. It might make the game take longer, but at least they get the call right.

 

[TonyS]

I think a simple solution to a lot of these "one call changed the game" type situations is giving each team one challenge per game for arguing the following penalties only: pass interference, illegal contact, facemask, qb pass beyond the LOS, intentional grounding. They can already challenge a catch/incomplete pass, qb hand moving forward during fumble/pass, etc... Adding a couple penalties where the coach could challenge the penalty called wouldn't be a big deal and shouldn't make the game last longer.

 

[Nightman]

what are they going to do the other 165 hours a week.

practice blowing their whistles?

the refs aren't the problem. it the league and their directives.

they want a super safe, violent war that is high scoring and has big plays but has to pass the HD and replay test. It also has to fight into a 3 hour window with as many commercials squeezed in as possible.

 

[DandyDon1722]

As a former Division I college basketball official, I have a few insights on the profession in general I can share with you.

1. It's hard as hell - I mean really unbelievably hard. Things happen so fast, there's a tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility that you put on yourself to get it right and there are so many things going on that you have to process and make a decision on. Unless you've officiated at any organized level, even high school - it's hard to explain.

2. Just like players you have good games and bad ones. There are games where you see everything, you've got a great rapport with players and coaches and you are in a zone where you're on top of everything and you know nothing is going to mess you up no matter what happens and when you're done it's like winning a game. Then there are games where you are constantly fighting it. You can't see through players, there's no flow to the game, coaches and players are constantly on you, it gets very acrimonious ad you're just hanging on to the end. Everybody's gonna say you sucked and you probably did.

3. You absolutely know when you've blown a call. Obviously college basketball is different than college football or the NFL but if it gives you any solace at all, after a bad call I've run down the court and cursed myself for being an idiot.

4. Against all odds - there are things that will come up that you cannot believe happened. I mean the most unbelievable crazy circumstances that led to a perfect storm that wins or loses a game that you will never forget. I could write a book.

5. A bad call in a big game makes the rounds pretty fast. Again the NFL is the big dog and there is nowhere to hide. Those guys can get killed in the media with a hundred replays a week and while if I'm a back judge you might not know my name, rest assured other refs, players and coaches in the league do and you will get a rep.

5. If this upsets you and if you think that all integrity is lost with this statement then you haven't been there and are being naive but I will tell you this and please know that every coach and official knows it happens. It's part of the game within the game. If you've been on our *** all game - I mean really giving it to us as a crew, even after we've explained things and tried to communicate calls to you that we know are right you are going to lose some calls. I'm not talking about a game changing end of the game play but to make a comparison - if there's a marginal 3 second call on you that could be let go - you are getting it. I would guess in football it would be a hold in the middle of the line someplace. I personally never let that happen because I was usually the youngest guy on my crews but I've worked with guys, senior guys who've been around for 20 years and they use it to send a message that - enough is enough and eventually the coaches get it. You know what - it works.

I tried to make these comments as general as possible and things that are relatable to the NFL in broad terms. I will say that I believe the human element definitely comes into play. Just like you, I wonder if a guy has it out for Dez or the team. From experience, I'll wonder if a player and ref have been going at it all game and the ref is going to get him. I do think like that.

Officials are imperfect beings created by imperfect beings and you try your best and you are just going to get it wrong from time to time. I've had television games with 17,000 people and to me it pales in comparison to one NFL game. I cannot imagine the microscope they are under.

Last thing - I'm out of it now but ever since the last time I ever officiated kids game I vowed I would never, ever do it again. I've been in arena's with drink fraternity kids screaming the most vile things you can possibly imagine and loved it. I was never intimidated or afraid and thought the atmosphere and passion was awesome, but I've walked out of a junior high school gym on a summer's day after doing a 14 year old girls game and been scared to death trying to get to my car because of the parents.

Never - ever - again.

 

[big dog cowboy]

It all starts at the top. Blandino is an idiot.

 

[T-RO]

Don't blame the officials, blame the rule book. Nobody could get the calls right with a rule book so elaborate.

And it's the NFL owners who are responsible for the rule book. We are seeing the worst officiating ever because the owners--more than ever--are profiting from gambling on the games.

It's a free country. If people want to donate their hard earned money to billionaires...they get a chance to do so every single Sunday.

They call it FanDuel or DraftKings. It's gambling by any real definition. But it's the worst possible kind of gamble -- the "house"gets to see all the bets come in and can then manipulate how the "cards" play out.

Imagine if Vegas could call phantom holding calls or over-rule your winning roll because of rule I.4.2b section 3.

If the league wants to suppress or enhance a player's numbers they now have all manner of mechanisms with which to do so. And first in that list of mechanisms is a highly "flexible" rule book.

 

[Hoofbite]

Don't blame the officials, blame the rule book. Nobody could get the calls right with a rule book so elaborate.

This is the real problem.

The rulebook is so convoluted and up for interpretation that it really doesn't matter who is in charge of making the call.

Could full time refs help? I used to think so, but now I think the rules themselves are the problem.

And, lets not pretend like refereeing in the NFL is some entry-level position. Most of the refs have been doing so for years and years within the NFL.

2 things the NFL needs are:

1. Less instant replay. Both in game replay, and replays that occur between plays. Is anything lost by not seeing a 3 or 4 yard gain in slow-mo? Quit showing people things from a perspective that isn't available to the officials. It only serves to fuel the fire.​

2. Less ambiguity in the rulebook.​