Updates

The NFL and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) together announced that the NFL has hired 21 full-time game officials from among the current 124-person roster of officials.

The full-time game officials come from all seven on-field officiating positions and were hired as a result of a collaborative initiative intended to promote the common goal of improving every aspect of NFL officiating.

To improve consistency, efficiency and accuracy, the full-time game officials will work throughout the calendar year on game preparation and administration, analyzing game trends, communicating with the roster of officials, and scouting to ensure that there is a qualified pipeline of future officials.

“We believe that we will learn a great deal over the course of this initial year working with the full-time game officials,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Alberto Riveron. “Our collective goal is to make a positive impact on NFL officiating overall.”

“We are supportive of providing our members the opportunity to voluntarily commit additional time to NFL officiating, especially in the offseason,” said NFLRA Executive Director Scott Green. “This initiative is the result of extensive discussion and planning, and the NFLRA looks forward to working with the NFL to test and evaluate this new approach over the next year.”

The NFL and NFLRA agreed to experiment with full-time game officials as part of the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement. Together, they announced their intention to hire full-time game officials for the 2017 season.