NFL fans who remember the start of the 2012 season might want to gear up for a repeat, because the league certainly is.
According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, the NFL has begun identifying replacement officials for the 2026 season in the event that they fail to reach a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Referees Association. Per the report, the league is focusing on identifying officials from “small college” conferences.
“An email making the rounds (but not sent directly from someone tied to the league office) explains that the goal is to perform background checks and ‘onboarding’ of potential replacements in April, to conduct an introductory, face-to-face gathering in May, to provide training via Zoom over the summer, to work training camps in August, and to transition to regular-season work in September,” Florio wrote.
Ghosts of 2012
NFL fans are already having flashbacks to that infamous start to the 2012 season where “scab” officials replaced NFL referees for the first three weeks of the season. The games were among the most terribly called that anyone could remember at that time, but the straw that broke the camel’s back was the iconic “Fail Mary Game.”
In Week 3 of Monday Night Football between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle won the game on a last second touchdown from Russell Wilson to Golden Tate. Viewers at the stadium and at home thought that Packers safety M.D. Jennings had caught the ball for an interception and the officials seemed confused as well.
The officials ultimately decided to award the TD to the Seahawks, causing mass outrage across the league.
Within days, the NFL reached an agreement with the referees and signed a new CBA.
Unfortunately for NFL fans, it might take one of their favorite teams getting completely screwed over to reach a resolution again.
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