NFL team owners have given the green light for staff members to begin hiring replacement referees for the 2026 season, such is the ‘alarming’ state of negotiations with the current crop of officials.
The league is currently in talks with the NFL Referees Association over pay and conditions, with ESPN reporting that an annual raise of 6.45% and a six-year deal has been offered to the full-time officials, who earned an average of $385,000 in 2025.
But it appears negotiations are at a standstill, with reports claiming that measures are now being taken to find replacements in time for the start of the season, should no agreement be reached in time.
League meetings began Sunday at the Arizona Biltmore, and sources revealed to ESPN that the league office is ‘expecting and preparing for a lockout’ with the situation becoming ever more dire.
‘We are so close to expiration and so far apart on economics, that unless an act of God gets involved…’, the source told the organization, raising fears over who will take charge of NFL games come September.
It is being reported that the NFL, and its teams, are currently compiling a list of college-level officials to recruit, and authorization has been given to hire and onboard replacements in the coming weeks.
The NFL Referees Association is in talks with the league over a new agreement for its officials
Jerry Jones and his fellow NFL team owners are starting to hire replacement referees
Owners are expected to approve new replay enhancements in the coming days, with replacement officials beginning employment on May 1.
There is some concern, though, that college-level officials may struggle to get up to speed with the professional game in time for the new season.
‘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,’ ESPN’s league source added.
‘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.’
During the last lockout in 2012, team owners waited until July to prepare for replacement officials.
The 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting began at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel on Sunday
During the last lockout in 2012, a league source said the league’s mistake was waiting until July to prepare for replacement officials.
The league’s current collective bargaining agreement with its referees, and the NFLRA, expires on May 31 and talks are ongoing over the new deal.
ESPN reports that a memo was sent by the league to each team last week prohibiting them from speaking publicly about the situation.
As team owners gathered in Arizona on Sunday, though, news has started to filter out about the growing concern over a lack of a new deal and the ‘dire’ state of talks with officials.
