The NFL is evidently gearing up for a season that begins with replacement referees, and the NFLRA is not amused. After putting forth a proposal that would allow off-site officials to overrule egregiously incorrect calls in the event that replacement referees must be used, now the NFL is being accused of not bargaining in good faith.
Over a decade ago, the NFL failed to come to an agreement with the referees’ association. They entered that season using replacement officials, which led to a spike in questionable calls. Not many players are still around to remember, but Aaron Rodgers remembers. Pepperidge Farm remembers, too. And let’s just say neither of them wants to see another NFL game officiated by replacement referees.
But the NFL takes a hardline stance in negotiating with the players, and does so with the referees, too. The owners have locked out the players on multiple occasions, even using replacement players over 40 years ago. Replacement referees are not as dramatic, but officiating is still important.
Not enough, though, to send a representative who has the authority to negotiate, apparently. According to Jeff Miller, head of the referee’s association, the NFL walked out of a scheduled two-day negotiating session.
“We offered a counter to the most recent proposal, which was rejected”, Miller said in a statement. “We asked that they respond to our offer with the goal of making forward progress. We then learned that no one in their delegation was authorized to negotiate beyond their original proposal, and at that time they chose to leave, after less than half a day of talks”.
Statement from NFL Referees Association Executive Director Scott Green:
“Today the NFLRA Negotiating Team showed up to what was supposed to be the start of a two-day session with the League to make progress towards a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Unfortunately, it was…
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2026
“We have come to learn that this is a common negotiation tactic used by the league to seek unreasonable concessions, which we quickly communicated to our members”, the referees union rep went on in discussing how the meeting with the NFL unfolded. “Though frustrating, it will not disrupt our union’s united position of achieving a fair deal”.
It seems like more than a coincidence that the NFL keeps sending representatives to meetings who don’t have the authority to negotiate. If it happens more than once, one should expect it to happen again. Let’s be honest, nobody with half a brain ought to believe a billion-dollar industry would repeatedly send a non-negotiating representative to a negotiation meeting in good faith.
The NFL has long resisted hiring full-time referees, though that’s not the focal point of this disagreement. The NFLRA’s current deal with the NFL expires in May, too, so time is of the essence. This is a resolvable situation, of course, but the league needs to want to resolve it.
Making proposals that allow the NFL to serve as a de facto referee from New York is not that. And who knows, while that was a temporary proposal, it may be something the league really wants to do on a permanent basis. It has blurred the line between on-field and off-site officiating for years already.
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