With talks stalled between the league and the referees’ union, NFL owners reportedly have authorized the hiring of replacement officials.
League sources told ESPN on Sunday that owners are “alarmed” by the current state of the negotiations with the NFL Referees Association.
The NFL has compiled a list of college-level referees to recruit and training could begin as early as May 1, according to ESPN. At the league meetings this week, owners are expected to approve a “sweeping set of replay enhancements” to support the replacement officials during preseason and regular-season action.
Once the training process begins, reaching a new deal with the union becomes a greater challenge, per the report. That means there is about a one-month window to work out their differences.
One league source told ESPN it would take “an act of God” to bridge the economic gaps between the two sides before the current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLRA expires on May 31.
NFLRA executive director Scott Green did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
The NFL has offered a six-year deal with an average annual raise of 6.45%, per ESPN. The average NFL official earned $385,000 in 2025.
Starting the training of replacement officials on May 1 could potentially avoid issues that arose during the last lockout in 2012, when the league waited until July to prepare the replacements.
“To expect people to jump from college to the pros and change in speed in that short of time is destined to be a challenge to succeed,” a league source told ESPN. “We’re not going to do that.
“There will be no panic, and we have begun preparations for the expiration. We have to do it. Otherwise, it would be just gross negligence.”
