How much will NFL referees be paid after inking new contract?
In 2012, the NFL and referees engaged in a 110-day lockout and it lasted through Week 3 and contained many high-profile officiating mistakes..
The lockout ended after the "Fail Mary" Monday night game between the Packers and Seahawks resulted in massive embarrassment for the league. In that game, officials ruled Golden Tate caught a Hail Mary TD pass from Russell Wilson while the ball was caught at the same time by safety M.D. Jennings.
Afterward, the league ruled Tate should have been called for pass interference for shoving Jennings with both hands, and the Seahawks should have won the game.
This time, the league will not come close to hiring replacement referees after agreeing to a seven-year deal with the NFL Referees Association on a seven-year contract that runs through 2032. The deal was agreed before the previous CBA due to expire on May 31.
"This agreement is a testament to the joint commitment of the league and union to invest in and improve officiating," NFL EVP of football operations Troy Vincent said in a statement. "It also speaks to the game officials' relentless pursuit of improvement and officiating excellence. We look forward to working together for the betterment of the game."
What are the provisions in the new agreement?
While complete details were not made public, ESPN reported negotiations centered on various initiatives to improve officiating quality. The league will have increased access to officials in the offseason for formal training during joint practices, minicamps, and training camps.
"We see this new CBA as a partnership with the league that benefits our membership but also seeks to make our game better. It is good to get these negotiations behind us so we can focus on preparing for the 2026 season," union President Carl Cheffers said in a statement.
Additionally, the NFL will expand the roster of officials to include reserves along with an increased discretion to use performance metrics for assigning postseason games as opposed to seniority, which is how other leagues operate.
Perhaps more important to officials is the monetary aspect. Officials are expected to get significant raises from last year's salaries.
During negotiations, the league offered to hike game fees by 10% for regular season contests and about 30% for anyone working on the Super Bowl officiating crew.
Before the last contract, NFL referees were paid an average of $205,000 in 2019, up from $149,000 in the last year (2011) of the previous contract, according to Sports Illustrated.
According to the New York Post, total compensation, including benefits, was $350,000 for refs in 2025. Assuming a 10% pay raise, that suggests referees will earn $385,000 in 2026, including benefits.
The vote to approve the contract passed by a 116 to 4 margin, according to NBC Sports Boston's Albert Breer.
What would happen without a deal?
In all likelihood, a lockout was on the horizon since the sides talked for more than two years until reaching a stalemate during the winter.
Things seemed so drastic that the NFL began recruiting replacement officials from college, and new rules were approved allowing league staffers to assist in officiating from the NFL offices in New York.
The bottom line appears both sides compromised to a point while thinking of the negative impacts of replacements in 2012 that not only impacted the game between Seattle and Green Bay, but questionable penalties for Baltimore against New England, along with a helmet-to-helmet hit by Pittsburgh's Ryan Mundy on Raiders wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey, who sustained a concussion and a strained neck.
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Another CBA solved at the last minute
In many cases, CBA negotiations get wrapped up when the sides are up against a deadline. No league has played a truncated schedule since the NHL was forced to play a 48-game schedule in 2013 after its third lockout.
The NHL also had a 48-game season in 1995 and postponed the 2004-05 season before solving things in July 2005 with a salary cap and rules to end ties.
The NBA played a 66-game schedule in 2011-12 and a 50-game schedule in 1999 but past negotiations seemed to go smoothly.
Baseball was on the same track until recently. A CBA that many viewed as lopsided for the players was ratified in 2016 but in 2021-2022 there was a lockout.
The lockout did not get solved until commissioner Rob Manfred announced the first week of games and paychecks would get canceled. Eventually the sides figured something out and no games were missed with the regular season going a week later.
The downside was the deal is only for five years, and another stoppage is expected this winter despite a massive growth in revenues thanks to doing things like putting games on places like Apple-TV and Netflix.
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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 3:35 PM.