So I ain’t no financial genius, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn recently.
So how about this: by what % have revenues increased since the refs’ last contract? Why not offer that same % to the refs?
PS I haven’t overdrawn any of my (meager) accounts even once since graduation. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

One thing life has taught me several times is NEVER discount in the influence ego has on those in positions of power and authority. They can't possibly be that stupid and petty, right? When it comes to stroking their egos, they damn sure can. Rest assured that if this comes down to a dick swinging match, Goodell is going to do whatever he has to to prove he has the bigger dick. If it damages the game in the short term and screws over a team or two, that's a price he's willing to pay so long as the world knows who has the bigger dick.

We all know who has the biggest one, Jerrah Jones. At least, according to him.

Give them a raise. Make them full-time, professional refs; no more lawyers and insurance executives. Create minimum standards of performance and put procedures in place to hold them accountable. Replace those who fail to meet the minimum standards.

Its about money. It is always about money and when they say it isn't about money it is really about the money.

Far too early to get worried about this. It is all posturing for the negotiations. We are still playing basketball and we are going to worry about this? The spring league hasn't even kicked off yet.

The morning after the Fail Mary I made the prediction that there would be an agreement and the officials would be back to work the next weekend after reading how much money was lost in Vagas because of that call. This was before the proliferation of on line betting. Not sure if that was the reason but I bet the betting world had the most influence on the decision.

It is bad enough, when the refs inserted themselves into a game, at inopportune moments, for one team, but was just what the opposing team needed, etc.. Now, with replacement refs, some of whom want to be the "star of the show," getting to decide the outcome of a game--ala the Fail Mary game. Time for the League to pay up. Even with refs getting their due diligence, there are officiating crews that are out of control, during games. Look at Hochuli and his crew. It seems they, at times(whenever the clock is running), may have a beef with the Packers. Every thing gets scrutinized to the Nth degree. Inconsistency in officiating, has cost many a team a victory, that should have been theirs-- Rice fumbled the ball! MD Jennings intercepted that pass!, etc.

NFL officials make more than 200k per year. If you compare it to MLB, NBA, and NHL they are making more per game officiated. They make about twice as much per game than NBA and NHL and more than twice as much than MLB officials.

You would think NFL referees would be full time employees of the league with extensive training and development. The job should be too important to be entrusted to part time employees with limited oversight. And paid well enough by a league flush with cash and wealth to be immune to the temptations of gambling influence. And yet the English Premier League (soccer), which has just as much prestige, cash and wealth as the NFL, uses exactly the same referee model as the NFL - part time employees.

Management usually wants to have control over important elements of their responsibilities as this allows more opportunities for quality control and consistent performance. And yet the two most powerful leagues in the world use part time referees over whom they have only nominal training and development control. I would love to understand the logic behind this but I don't.

As for the costs of referees - assuming the $200,000 per referee number is accurate; and the referee benefits package runs about 40% of the base salary; and that the NFL uses a seven person referee crew for each game plus one reserve referee in case of injury (i.e. eight refs per game); and the NFL needs 16 crews of referees to handle the full slate of weekly game - the total annual costs would be (8 x $200,000 + 8 x $200,000 x .4) x 16 = $35,840,000 annually.

For the price of one starting QB's annual salary (about $36MM) the NFL gets all their games officiated. Small money for an organization of the size and scope of the NFL. And yet they prefer part time employees who don't have year-round training and development (unlike their coaches and players) to control their game. I must be missing something.........

Are we sure having full time refs would solve anything? I think the issue is with the constant revolving rule book that is far too complex. Ever read that thing? It is almost impossible to apply to the real game. They change the rules every year or have them stress different rules every year. The game moves extremely fast and there are infractions on every play. I know they are the easy target for every couch QB but I think they do a pretty good job over all. Instant replay needs fixing but that isn't the fault of the refs.

They do have off season training and drill work they have to attend. They hold several conferences a year to go over what the league will demand of them and go over film of the previous years. They aren't just punching in on Sunday and working 20-25 days a year.

The full time officiating has been a source of frustration and incompetency. The last time they used back ups it led to a complete farce: the fail Mary was a spectacular illustration but hardly an isolated instance.

The NFL is more interested in spectacle than sport. It’s long past due for them to take officiating more seriously. That starts by paying professionals and then, having truly incentivized? rigorously thinning those who don’t live up to standards not rewarding mere longevity. It cuts both ways, but it starts with a professional pay and conditions package. No sympathy for the league. This is entirely of their own making by ignoring officiating quality and compensation for decades.

I attended the Fail Mary game and unknowingly at the time had the DISPLEASURE of having Lance Easley sit across the aisle from me on the flight out from California. I don't recall what I was wearing, but it was likely something showing I was a Packers' fan and he started up a conversation. He told me he was going to be an official for the game at Lambeau. He dominated the conversation telling how he was a star football, basketball, baseball, and that he got an injury that prevented him from being a professional. He said he had been a referee at the college level for years and that the NFL has recruited him for this game. I am pleased to say on my long flight back to California that I did not have Mr. Easley sitting next to me or across the aisle or I would have been dominating the conversation and it wouldn't have been a pleasant one.

The Officials Union has two feared letters in the negotiations with the NFL that can, and will change everything: AI.

And the rapid speed at which AI is being developed and adopted will be the "replacement officiating" one day soon. If I was the NFL, I would not agree to a very long collective bargaining agreement.