PHOENIX — It’s still too early to bank on replacement refs returning to NFL fields this season as negotiations with the referees union remain stuck in the mud.
Yet with neither side budging in talks over a six-year extension, there’s no denying that the NFL is much further along in the process of executing contingency plans than it was in 2012, when games were marred by botched officiating from replacements.
NFL owners, gathering for league meetings this week, will consider a rule proposal that allows for expanded input from the league’s replay command center in New York to help replacement officials correct missed calls.
Just as significantly, the NFL insists that it is further along than it was in 2012 in recruiting and perhaps, ultimately, hiring replacements from the college ranks. League officials insist that’s a key lesson learned from 2012.
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NFL officials talk between plays during the second half of a game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 17, 2025, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nev.
"We’re under no illusion, the challenge that we have,” a person with knowledge of the NFL’s negotiations with the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA), said under the condition of anonymity on Sunday. The person did not want to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the labor talks. “That’s why we’re starting so early.”
The league maintains that a significant pressure point in talks with the NFLRA will come before NFL preseason games in August. With the current pact with officials expiring on May 31, the idea is to enlist replacements in time for training and development in June and July. In addition to the extensive background checks during the hiring process, the plan involves having the replacement reps on fields at every NFL training camp to help the officials — who would largely comes from all ranks of the college game, as low as Division 3 — adjust to the speed of the NFL game.
In 2012, the league didn’t enlist replacement referees until July.
“What we have learned in studying 2012, the mistake there, frankly, was that we didn’t start preparing for replacement (officials) until July,” the person added. “To expect people to jump from college to the pros with the change in speed, in that short time is destined to be challenged.”
Officials indicate opposite rulings, one a touchdown, one incomplete during the Packers 14-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 24, 2012, in Seattle. The play now known as the "Fail Mary" came the last time the NFL used replacement officials.
The league also threatened that costs of hiring replacements — which include signing bonus, training and travel — could impact its offer to current refs.
Of course, the money matters.
In 2012, the NFL and NFLRA ultimately struck a deal that resulted in annual increases for 5.2% per year for the officials. The dispute wasn’t resolved until nearly a month into the regular season.
The person familiar with the league’s negotiating position said the NFL is currently offering raises at a clip of 6.45% per year, while the NFLRA seeks increases in excess of 10%, plus millions in marketing fees.
In other words, the gap is apparently so vast at this point that the NFL is ramping up on alternatives that may become a reality.
