Somewhat in the shadow of the NHL lockout (at least in Canada) was the lockout of National Football League officials, resulting in replacement referees being used for the first three weeks of the 2012-2013 NFL season. In June, officials were locked out as they could not reach an agreement with the NFL. The result of the lockout was the use of minor league officials from lower levels of college and pro football. Unfortunately, the jump to the professional league was not an easy one as the game is much faster paced. The replacement officials took much heat over their three weeks of work, culminating in a spectacular blown call at the end of NFL’s “Monday Night’er” on September 24, 2012.
The officials finally reached an agreement: the turning point was the league offering officials a longer deal. The longer deal promised increased job security as a lockout could not happen for an extra three years. The original deal offered by the league was five years in length, and saw a substantial roll-back to the existing pension plan offered to all officials. The new deal contained a similar roll-back, but was increased to eight years in length. This added length encouraged the officials to make some concessions on what they thought was a fair deal for them, resulting in a win for both sides in my opinion.
Existing NFL officials will still receive their pension benefits, but the NFL will reduce spending in the future as they will not have to pay these benefits to future officials. I see this as a win for both sides. But let’s not forget the real winner here; the fans. Finally we’ll be able to yell at our TV sets about professional officials instead of amateurs.
Full extent of the new deal here