NFL Referee Lockout Ends as League and Officials Reach Agreement

[Jimx29]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1348954-nfl-officials-what-fans-can-expect-once-the-real-refs-return

[Guiness]

Good news. Even if it is from Bleacher Report!

The article is very right in one respect - the refs will suffer from the lack of a preseason as well.

PFT is reporting the deal is done, but not signed, which will happen Friday. Not sure what will happen Thursday.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/26/daopoulos-nfl-nflra-deal-is-done/

[Guiness]

I also wonder what kind of a deal the replacement refs had? They had to know it was VERY temporary, did they cash in? I can't see why anyone would agree to do it otherwise.

[Kiwon]

If the information below is correct, I guess you could fairly say that Goodell and the NFL's actions give new meaning to the term "self-inflicted wound."
.................................................. ...............

"The refs will meet in Dallas on Friday and Saturday to ratify the eight-year contract and pick up their equipment and assignments. The pension deal they fought to preserve will remain for the next five years, according to reports, then it goes to 401Ks. There is a four percent pay raise."

"In the end, the NFL was battling over $3.3 million per year in pension payouts. That was a meager $103,125 per team per year for a $9 billion-plus industry."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--nfl-gives-into-public-pressure-and-does-right-thing-by-bringing-back-regular-officials.html

[pbmax]

They got the pension for four more years (I think one of the original offers was for 2 more years) but also got a larger than previously uptick in pay, which helps offset the reduction in contribution pension vs 401k. But they also got the NFL to pick up the tab for the "bench" of officials they will create (rough equivalent of three teams of extra officials) to do mid-season replacements for under performing refs.

Which, if the actual numbers bear that out, is the reverse of my hunch. I thought the bench of officials, news of which broke later in the negotiations, was a red herring designed to help drive down the actual cost of the eventual deal. But it appears they were serious about concerns over performance of refs near the end of the season.

Odd that this issue never saw the light of day previously. There are definite concerns over NFL officiating prior to the replacements, many of which related to narrowly threaded rules interpretations. But I don't remember hearing of any concerns about individual refs in particular.

[Guiness]

The idea of the bench officials is that they will be trained and mentored, and could be used to replace underperforming officials, right? I do remember one of the issues was that the NFL wanted to evaluate the officials performance and be allowed to make decisions based on those evaluations, which they got. The refs will be treated like vested veterans - if they get pulled, they still get their money for the year. I wonder what happens at the end of the year though - I would guess, also like NFL contracts, they could be released.

[pbmax]

The idea of the bench officials is that they will be trained and mentored, and could be used to replace underperforming officials, right? I do remember one of the issues was that the NFL wanted to evaluate the officials performance and be allowed to make decisions based on those evaluations, which they got. The refs will be treated like vested veterans - if they get pulled, they still get their money for the year. I wonder what happens at the end of the year though - I would guess, also like NFL contracts, they could be released.

Yes in all respects, yet the part that still isn't clear to me is why in-season is the focus. The refs have no protection (that I am aware of) from being evaluated after the season and replaced. So we are truly talking about mid-season performance. Like I said, there are definite issues with reffing in the NFL, I just wasn't aware this one was a high priority. Without data, its hard to judge, but it really surprised me. I thought the occasional late season unevenness of games was largely a result of the players playing out the string, not the refs, having missed the playoffs.