The NFL is not wiling to admit — not yet, anyway – that the public and private outcry after Monday night’s game-deciding referee’s call was the impetus of the agreement the league and its locked-out officials finally reached to end the three-month lockout.
But that does not matter. The replacement officials that in three weeks of work generated much discussion and frustration are no more. A series of prolonged negotiations produced an agreement announced at midnight that puts experienced, trained officials back to work, starting tonight with the Ravens-Cleveland Browns game in Baltimore.
The replacements worked the first three weeks of games, setting off an avalanche of outrage that threatened to disrupt the rest of the season. After a missed call on the final play of the game cost the Green Bay Packers a victory at Seattle on Monday night, something had to be done. And fast.
“We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week’s games,” referees union president Scott Green said.
The tentative eight-year deal is the longest involving on-field officials in NFL history and was reached with the assistance of two federal mediators. Commissioner Roger Goodell was at the negotiating table, too. It must be ratified by 51 percent of the union’s 121 members, who plan to vote Friday and Saturday in Dallas.
The agreement hinged on working out salary, pension and retirement benefits for the officials, who are part-time employees of the league. Tentatively, it calls for their salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019.
Under the proposal, the current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years of service. The defined benefit plan will then be frozen.
Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined contribution arrangement. The annual league contribution made on behalf of each game official will begin with an average of more than $18,000 per official and increase to more than $23,000 per official in 2019.
Beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials on a full-time basis to work year round, including on the field. The NFL also will be able to retain additional officials for training and development, and can assign those officials to work games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the league.
“As you know, this has to be ratified and we know very little about it, but we’re excited to be back. And ready,” referee Ed Hochuli told The Associated Press. “And I think that’s the most important message — that we’re ready.”
