NFL replacement refs won’t have to be that good to measure up to the real ones

· Yahoo Sports

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 29: Referee Clete Blakeman #34 announces a penalty between the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams during the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Is there a group of people more universally hated than NFL referees? If you had to assemble a Mount Rushmore of people/things no one likes, in no particular order, the monument would consist of NFL refs, the orc who kills Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring, Duke basketball, and the ending of How I Met Your Mother.

NFL referees are hands down the worst group of officials in major American sports. MLB umpires are a solid No. 2, and the ABS system is making fools out of them to the rejoice of America. And while hate is a strong word, it’s also an appropriate one for a group of people who are so collectively inept that it takes away from the sport in which many people’s lives revolve around.

Visit catcrossgame.com for more information.

Now, the NFL is preparing for a referee lockout as negotiations with the NFLRA have stalled. This has led to the NFL hiring several college referees to begin prepping on May 1st to serve as replacement referees. Many remember 2012, which was the last time the NFL used replacement refs, an it was an outright disaster that ended with the “Fail Mary.” However, this specific situation is tremendous for the NFL because of concerning patterns regarding the current group of officials, which could lead to replacement refs being welcome additions and solving a lot of problems.

Too many penalties

There’s a reason NFL officials have verbal tomatoes thrown their way on a daily basis during the season – they have become increasingly bad over the last number of years. From 2022-25, the number of accepted penalties increased by three percent, per Sumer Sports. In 2025, there was an average of 13.96 penalties per game, which is up from 11.13 in 2022. If you want to go even further back to 2010, teams averaged 6.95 penalties per game. In 2025, that number was at 7.45, which is an increase of almost seven percent.

One penalty, though, has become the envy of every fan’s existence. Without even saying it, you already know what it is. Did you guess pass interference? Survey says: *ding*

Over the last 15 years, defensive pass interference has seen a dramatic increase. Per Pro Football Reference, there were 194 DPI calls in 2010 – there were 279 DPI calls in 2025, a 43.8 percent increase. In addition, defensive holding saw a 134 percent increase(!), going from 100 calls to 234 calls in the 15-year span. Illegal contact penalties have also gone up at a notable rate, with an increase of 27 such penalties in 2025 from 2010.

Officials have become far too quick with the whistle, making passes nearly impossible to defend at times due to any sort of contact being seen as pass interference or reason to throw a flag. This has led to many quarterbacks deliberately under-throwing passes downfield in one-on-one situations because they know a receiver jumping and initiating contact will draw a flag and give them an unearned chunk play. It’s unethical football, and the quick trigger finger on officials is actively hurting the product.

What is a penalty?

In a weird paradox, the NFL calls too many penalties while simultaneously not knowing what a penalty is or isn’t, which leads to blatant missed calls.

This past season alone, there were headline-making bad calls or missed calls on a near weekly basis. The Eagles routinely moving before the snap on the tush push and never getting called for it was a conversation every Sunday night. Speaking of the Eagles on Sunday night, they benefited from a dreadful pass interference call on Detroit Lions Rock Ya-Sin with 1:56 remaining in the game. It gave the Eagles an automatic first down and allowed them to kneel out the rest of the clock instead of forcing a punt that would give the Lions a chance to tie the game.

An obvious Green Bay Packers offside went unflagged in their Week 8 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Aaron Rodgers, thinking he had a free play, launched the ball downfield and for the referee to turn on his microphone and put his hand on his hips. This came on a third-and-eight, and instead of the Steelers getting another play, they punted the ball away.

Week 8 as a whole in 2025 was the tip of the arrow for horrendous calls. On top of the missed offside on Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a defensive touchdown wiped off the board because the play was blown dead because Winfield was ruled down – only he was never on the ground. The Bucs were screwed out of a touchdown due to incompetent officiating.

And for the the hat trick goal in awful calls benefitting the Eagles, Darius Slayton was called for offensive pass interference on what would have a long touchdown.

These are just a few examples of the current officials being dreadful at their jobs and throwing flags when there isn’t anything resembling a penalty, swallowing their whistle when a penalty is clear as day, or deciding a player standing straight up was actually down on the turf because… *shrugs shoulders*.

Because of the massive increase in penalties, combined with the inconsistencies and proven incompetencies from officials, bringing in replacement referees is a no-lose situation for the NFL. What’s the worst that could happen? The NFL continues to have bad officiating? Insert LeBron faking being scared GIF.

Worst case scenario, the scab refs are terrible – similar to how they were in 2012. If they are that bad, then a deal will get one quickly with the regular group of officials, who will face a bit less heat than usual due to how bad the alternative was.

However, there is also a world where the substitute teachers do a better job than the tenured professors and the scabs are actually an improvement over the current refs. Remember, these are current college refs that the NFL is prepping. It’s not as if they are hiring from the lingerie football league or calling your uncle Ron whose couch smells like Marlboro Reds and thinks CTE is a liberal conspiracy. These are people who have officiated football, some at the highest level of college football, which they lacked back in 2012 when the replacements consisted largely of Arena League and lower level college refs.

Is this transition and subsequent season with replacement officials going to be perfect? No. But how much worse can officiating in the NFL actually get? In a perfect world, these replacements actually perform well and we won’t hold our breaths on every third-and-long pass that falls incomplete expecting to see a flag thrown to a chorus of groans and boos while Shawn Hochuli looks as smug as possible while making the game about himself.

Read full story at source