Images of the Fail Mary are flashing through NFL fans’ minds on Monday. Why? Well, it appears the NFL and the NFL Referees Association could be approaching an impasse as the two sides look to re-up their labor agreement, which expires in May.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news.
The NFL held committee meetings last week in Palm Beach and owners were updated on the status of talks with the NFL Referees Association on a new deal to replace the agreement expiring in May – and talks are said to not be in a good place, per sources.
One source said…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2026
Per Schefter, “The NFL held committee meetings last week in Palm Beach, and owners were updated on the status of talks with the NFL Referees Association on a new deal to replace the agreement expiring in May – and talks are said to not be in a good place, per sources. One source said ‘frustration is mounting’ on the NFL side and among owners. The league has said in the past that it is is [sic] focused on changes that it believes will improve the performance of the on-field officials while the union wants to preserve the status quo or roll back in some cases the access the league has to work with the officials.”
Officiating has become a core tenet of the NFL-watching experience, for better or worse. Rules officials are part and parcel to NFL broadcasts, chiming in on seemingly every borderline call referees make.
In recent years, the NFL has leaned into the use of off-site officials in its centralized replay center in New York. How those reviews are initiated, and the complete lack of transparency about the process, have become a point of contention within the league. “After expedited review” and “after conversation” have become normal phrases to hear from officials during an NFL broadcast. Both tend to mean the same thing: replay assist buzzed in and told us the call was wrong. But when and how the “sky refs” levy a judgment is shrouded in secrecy.
Last season, we learned that the NFL’s replay center listens to the live broadcast on Fox, CBS, NBC, or wherever else a game is airing, opening up the potential that these replay officials could be influenced by what is (or isn’t) being said to millions of people watching at home.
To take Schefter’s report at face value, it seems the NFL wants to increase the use of replay officials in New York, while on-field officials are fighting to limit their use. Until the league comes forward with some more transparent procedures and ensures that game broadcasts aren’t influencing replay officials, that’s a reasonable point to make.
We’d also be remiss not to point out the new business partnership between the NFL and ESPN, Schefter’s employer. The NFL now owns a 10% stake in ESPN, and Schefter’s report only included the NFL perspective. Perhaps the Referees Association has a different outlook on negotiations.
Regardless, the last thing anyone wants is a repeat of 2012, the last time the NFL and its officials failed to reach a labor agreement. The resulting “replacement refs” debacle led to one of the most memorable botched calls in NFL history, the “Fail Mary,” which almost immediately resulted in a new deal between the league and the refs’ union.
It’s hard to believe that in 2026, NFL refs still aren’t full-time employees of the league. The NFL pulls in $10 billion per year in media rights, a number that could nearly double as the league looks to renegotiate those deals early. That’s not to mention the billions the league earns from ticketing, merchandise, and other revenue streams each year.
Apparently, that’s not enough to keep its referees on the payroll all 12 months of the year. Its television product is worse for it. And how these negotiations go will have a direct impact on what that TV product looks like for years to come.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.