It appears that referees and Roger Goodell are the only ones who believe that officiating in the NFL is fine.
This week, the league Commissioner claimed the situation has never been better, despite the exact opposite being what obtains at the moment – at least the way fans see it.
Both the AFC and NFC Championship games featured some questionable incidents, more so the former as the Cincinnati Bengals feel like the calls went against them all game, unfairly at that.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sees it that way too. The veteran star was on the Pat McAfee show recently and told the former kicker that the league is losing its best refs because the pay sucks.
“Listen, the best refs we’ve had in the league are on TV now,” he pointed out. “They’re not working in the league office. They’re on TV. Gene Steratore, my favorite ref of all-time.
“I think one of the best guys at understanding how to interact with guys and how to communicate with them, and then how to control a game without being a part of it. Gene was incredible at that, but Gene is on TV now. Why? Because they pay more.”
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A former NFL referee who’s now an analyst for FOX, Mike Pereira, backed Rodgers up, though he notes it didn’t apply to him because he hasn’t been on the field for a while.
I liked his logic, but it didn’t apply to me because I was already off the field and in the league office. He has a point. I do feel that officiating is under-appreciated from the standpoint of the league. I think the job I had [as head of officiating] is the second-most important job in the league. I give Roger Goodell the No. 1 job, but I think what happens in officiating and the integrity of the game, I think that position is so important that if you get the right one you should do everything to not let them get away.”
New York Post
The league has considered making all of its referees full-time. It would probably make things a lot better if they were to go ahead with it.
