It makes no sense. These guys are already the lowest paid officials in pro sports. I doubt if they’re fighting over more than 10 to 15 mil a year considering there are 32 teams that’s less than 400 to 500k per team. Don’t forget the owners just signed a 40 BILLION dollar TV contract. Yes, billion! Good ole Roger GODdell makes 20 million a year in salary.
__________________________________
You act like the previous officials never cost a team a game before. Of course people will be mad if the officials cost their team a game, but it won’t be something new and it won’t be the first time and definately won’t be the last. Whether it is replacement or regular officials. Of course the NFL officials are the lowest paid in sports. They work the fewest amount of games, aren’t full-time and have other jobs that they do. From what I have read the NFL locked the officials out because the NFLRA said that they would strike. So the NFL had to prepare replacements so that the season wouldn’t be in jeopardy. To do that, they had to lock the current officials out. The two sides are in negotiations and both sides will do what they have to do to win. If the regular officials are so important then the NFL will succumb to their demands if the replacement officials are as bad as you think they will be. If the replacements are good and people aren’t complaining then it will be the NFLRA that succumbs. That’s the way it works. So only time will tell which way it goes.

“It makes no sense. These guys are already the lowest paid officials in pro sports. I doubt if they’re fighting over more than 10 to 15 mil a year considering there are 32 teams that’s less than 400 to 500k per team. Don’t forget the owners just signed a 40 BILLION dollar TV contract. Yes, billion! Good ole Roger GODdell makes 20 million a year in salary.”

One of the reasons they are the lowest paid is the fact they only work 20 days per season for the $75-111,000.00 per season they make.

What the refs are demanding is a new contract that currently adds about $1500 per game to their salaries. That’s about a 27 – 40% pay increase – in this economy???

The NFL has offered them a 5 – 11% pay increase ANNUALLY over the life of the new CBA.

That’s more than fair.

However, this seems to be a stretch. Playing in a poker tournament 5 years ago shouldnt be the end of the world

Secondly, as stated in the first comment, it applies only during the season.

Thirdly, the question needs to be asked; is professional poker gambling? The skill level of the players at the highest level make it much more than a game of chance.

Fourthly, I actually like the thought that a professional poker player, who is trained to see right through the lies being told by the people around the table, is going to be officiating, I think that gives them a definite edge!

This is a business of perception and being a professional gambler would create the perception that violates the credo listed above.

I wouldn’t put it past the league to have set aside their background check standards for the replacements credit history either – where there is smoke there is fire!

Regards,
Pete Rose

It makes no sense. These guys are already the lowest paid officials in pro sports. I doubt if they’re fighting over more than 10 to 15 mil a year considering there are 32 teams that’s less than 400 to 500k per team. Don’t forget the owners just signed a 40 BILLION dollar TV contract. Yes, billion! Good ole Roger GODdell makes 20 million a year in salary.

Why publicly point out their errors during a pre-season game when they’ve never tried embarassing their own refs like that over the last 10 years? There have been several terribly called games for them to pick from, but they just sat quietly through them without any public complaints about their own bad performances.

Why try to call out something like a replacement ref participating in a legal game of poker in the past? Are we to believe that NONE of the regular refs ever particpated in any poker, slots, roulette, raffle etc in their life??

It’s just sad… these guys make at a minimum $75,000 a year, and up to $100′s of thousands of dollars/ yr to work for at most 30 days of the year. Quit crying about lost pensions… they are a thing of the past for almost all Americans. Accept the ridiculous salaries you earn for what most of us would consider doing for free, or reject the NFL’s offer and move on with the rest of your lifes. The constant attempts at undermining the replacement refs is getting to be comical.

Since the previous CBA is based on a league schedule that has the Pro Bowl after the Super Bowl it sounds like the refs have a backdoor at the very last week of the league year to gamble. Sounds like a serious conflict of interest to me for the Super Bowl.

Who gives a rip about the officials anyway? The regular refs average about four bad calls a game. Can’t imagine the replacements will be much worse.