Like any offseason, the focus has been on the moves teams are making, what will happen in the NFL Draft, new rules, teams backing out of trades, and more. One storyline that has been a bit under the radar has been the NFL’s negotiations with the NFL Referee’s Association. The collective bargaining agreement between the two parties ends on May 31st, 2026, and if an agreement cannot be reached, the NFL will hire new referees’ next season. This would be a worrying outcome for games, but it seems likely
to happen, and the NFL has begun the process of bringing in referees from college football.
The last time a lockout occurred that made the NFL have to hire new referees was in 2012, and as expected, there were many errors and bad calls. One being the infamous “Fail Mary,” which occurred in a game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks. If you do not know this play, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary for the last play of the game.
In the endzone, Packers defender M.D. Jennings clearly caught the ball, and as a group of players went to the ground, Seahawks WR Golden Tate was able to get his hands on it and make it a 50/50 possession. In the rules, this would be an interception because Tate could not take full possession away, but instead, the referees called a touchdown. This was the play that led the NFL to fold in negotiations with the NFLRA, and the lockout ended.
Let’s hope the NFL and NFLRA can come to an agreement before the season begins.
