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Everybody Lies - The NFL Referee Holdout


by Ryan Henry

A well-renown, pill-popping, New Jersey-based, television doctor had a saying: “Everyone lies.” While this may not be perfectly true, it certainly holds whenever people are talking about labor disputes or contract holdouts. It is the reason why when Maurice Jones-Drew said that his contract holdout wasn’t entirely about the money, nobody believed him. It is also why when the NFL and their referees say that it is only about the money we should be skeptical.

First down! Source: nfl.com

Right now, referees get paid about $3000 per game with the some of the referees making up to $140,000 per year. The NFL wants to increase the number of available NFL-approved referees and replace the pension that was part of the CBA the negotiated back in 2006 and put in place a defined contribution 401(k) valued somewhere between $16,000 and $22,000, according to ESPN.com. The league is citing a downturning “economic environment,” which is the same argument they used against the players.
These numbers should seem low. In 2011, the NFL grossed $9 billion in revenue. That’s billion…with a “b.” Why then are they arguing about what would amount to less than 1% of their revenue? Because it isn’t about the money.

Instead, what this holdout is really about is the NFL telling the referees that they are a dime a dozen, and if they don’t want to work, then they will find someone who will. The NFL wants their referees to feel replaceable. They want them to know their place.

The referees on the other hand want to show the NFL that without their expertise, the quality of the product that the NFL produces will decline. And it will. If you watched a preseason game, then you got to see some of this in action. There were questionable calls (more so than in a normal NFL game); there were more challenges; and the pace of the game felt a lot slower. In week one of the preseason in the game between Green Bay and San Diego, there was an unsportsmanlike penalty called for after a rookie scored his first NFL sack and flexed. The ref said that that constituted unnecessary celebration. Granted, that was the first week of the preseason and many refs weren’t used to the NFL rules, but the preseason represents a much slower game. Players simply don’t care that much about the preseason.

NFL referees discussing. Source: nfl.com

When the regular season comes around (Wednesday September 5, 2012, Dallas at New York Giants), calls will be missed. The NFL is hoping that these calls aren’t too egregious. The referees currently embroiled in a holdout hope they are.

Best case scenario? We have replacement referees on Wednesday, but they reach a deal and are able to work on Sunday. However, this remains unlikely. Once a deal is met, each NFL referee must undergo a fitness test and a recertification. Basically, the referee equivalent of a checkup. It is far more likely that the NFL will wait until after the Monday night game to determine what kind of leverage it has. If the replacement refs do well, then you can be sure the NFL will force the Union to agree to its terms. If they do poorly, then it becomes a much more interesting story. It boils down to how much the NFL wants to taint its product with poor officiating.

This is especially excruciating for the coaches and players. After all, at the end of the day they are the ones that have to play under these circumstances. With poor officiating, players are able to get away with more, which in turn leads to more injuries. Coaches on the “hot seat” could also lose their jobs. The NFL is a league of inches, and poor officiating can be the difference in a potential playoff appearance or being on the outside looking in.

No matter what happens with the end of this holdout, remember this. Everybody lies, and when they say it is about the money…then it definitely isn’t. 

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