NFL fans can’t agree about much when they sit down to watch their favorite team play, but they can align on one thing: the feel the referees are out to get their team.
Luckily for those fans, things might be changing very soon in the world of NFL officiating, as news today points to massive shifts in 2026.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent informed all 32 teams on Wednesday that the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association will end in May of 2025.
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The last time the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement resulted in the 2012 debacle with replacement referees, where multiple late-game decisions were bungled due to the inexperience of the substitutes.
The tenured refs missed three weeks of the season before the two sides came to an agreement to resume play as normal.
While there is no indication yet that the two sides are as far apart in negotiations as they were over a decade ago, the end of the CBA means there could be changes to how officiating works in the NFL.
One sticking point that could be written into the agreement is an incentive-based model that ties compensation and postseason assignments to a ref’s performance throughout the year.