Fail Mary 2 is coming. Unless, of course, the NFL and the NFL Referees Association reach a new labor deal before Week 1.
It’s not news that the NFL plans to begin training replacement officials next month. It is news that the NFL has officially informed the 32 teams that it will begin training replacement officials next month.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the league sent a memo explaining that the training will commence with the goal of starting team visits as of June 1, if no new Collective Bargaining Agreement is negotiated before the current one expires on May 31.
The memo notes that the NFL will seek feedback from the teams as to the performance of the replacements throughout the offseason, as the NFL finalizes its roster of officials for training camp and the preseason.
Per the report, the NFL has required all teams to submit OTA and minicamp schedules by April 22, so that league can assign replacements to those sessions as of June 1.
While communication with the teams is inevitable, there’s a P.R. element to this. The NFL wants to put pressure on the NFLRA to do a deal before the NFL starts spending money on the training of replacements.
As explained last week, the NFL will make guaranteed payments for the training period of up to $120,000 per official, and at a minimum of $50,000 per official. The league has previously let it be known that, if/when the training process commences, it will become more difficult to reach a deal with the regular officials.
Whether it’s huffing or puffing or whether the league intends to blow the NFLRA’s house down remains to be seen. But we know how this can go. Because, 14 years ago, it went south — culminating in the Monday night debacle between the Packers and Seahawks.
“Obviously when you go through something like this, it’s painful for everybody,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said after the three-week misadventure with replacement officials ended in 2012. “Most importantly, it’s painful for fans. We’re sorry to have to put fans through that. Sometimes you have to go through something like that in the short term for the right agreement for the long term.”
The stakes are much higher this time, thanks to legalized gambling and the suspicions that the league’s embrace of it creates. And the NFL seems to be willing to play Russian roulette with the integrity of the game, and with the integrity of the wagers on the game.
Hopefully, it won’t come to that. With the NFL sending owners to negotiate with the NFL Referees Association this week, there’s a chance that the spin cycle will stop and a real give-and-take will begin.