Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Sarah Thomas will be first woman official at Super Bowl; Carl Cheffers to ref

The NFL announced the officiating crew for Super Bowl LV on Tuesday.

Carl Cheffers has been named the referee for the game. He was the referee for Super Bowl LI and has officiated 17 playoff games over the course of his career.

Down judge Sarah Thomas will be part of Cheffers’ crew. Thomas will be the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl. She is also the first woman to officiate any NFL game.

“Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super Bowl official,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said in a statement. “Her elite performance and commitment to excellence has earned her the right to officiate the Super Bowl. Congratulations to Sarah on this well-deserved honor.”

Umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge James Coleman, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli, and replay official Mike Wimmer make up the rest of the crew. Coleman joins Thomas in making their Super Bowl debuts while the other officials will be working in the game for the second time.