America's long national nightmare is over.
On Wednesday night, after three weeks of mostly dismal officiating from the NFL's overmatched replacement refs, the league and its real officials finally came to an agreement on a new labor deal. The compromise, months in the making, arrived just in time to allow the officials to return to action for Thursday night's showdown between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.
The NFL said its new deal with the officials would stretch over the next eight years--the longest contract between the two parties in league history. As part of the agreement, the officials accepted changes to their pension and retirement plans (the pension plan, in particular, was a major sticking point during the negotiations) but will also see their compensation rise to $173,000 per year by 2013 (up from $149,000 per year in 2011) and $205,000 by 2019.
Though the deal must be formally approved by the NFL Referees Association later this week, real officials will work the Thursday night game anyway.
"The long-term future of our game requires that we seek improvement in every area, including officiating," Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "This agreement supports long-term reforms that will make officiating better. The teams, players and fans want and deserve both consistency and quality in officiating. We look forward to having the finest officials in sports back on the field, and I want to give a special thanks to NFL fans for their passion. Now it's time to put the focus back on the teams and players where it belongs." - Tim Hyland
Photo: Getty Images
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