INDIANAPOLIS — At its annual meeting in Indianapolis during the NFL Scouting Combine, the league’s competition committee has discussed multiple contingencies if a deal can’t be reached with the NFL Referees Association on a collective bargaining agreement. Among the contingencies being discussed is the possibility of centralizing some officiating functions in New York and expanding the use of technology, multiple sources who were briefed on the discussions confirmed Tuesday.
In such a scenario, one source added, the league would still have officials on the field, but the NFL would rely more on replay help from its Art McNally Gameday Central in New York.
One of those people with knowledge of the discussions believes that this is largely a negotiating ploy by the NFL. That person believes the league and officials will reach an agreement in time for the 2026 season, even if negotiations drag into the summer.
The league has been in talks with the NFLRA about a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. Their current agreement expires on May 31.
Longtime NFL reporter Mark Maske first reported that the competition committee was considering centralizing officiating from New York.
In a memo sent to all 32 teams on Dec. 10, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent and Lawrence Ferazani, the attorney for the league’s management council, said the NFL is focused on implementing a “performance-based model” for referees to improve the level of officiating and to add accountability measures. Among the items the NFL seeks to change, according to the memo:
• Tying officials’ compensation to performance, so only “high performing” game officials share in the year-end bonus pool.
• Eliminating seniority as a factor for postseason assignments. The league wants the “best performing” officials, while the current CBA includes seniority as a factor and, according to the memo, the union seeks to keep it that way.
• Having mandatory training and development programs for “low performing and probationary officials.” The union proposed eliminating the probationary period.
• Increasing the number of game officials to have “a deeper bench.”
• Shortening the “dead period” that runs from the Super Bowl through May 15 and prohibits the league from talking to officials.