Less than a month before the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) was set to expire, the two sides reached a new CBA, which the league announced Friday.<\/p>\n
Officials approved the deal by a vote of 116-4, according to NFL Network\u2019s Tom Pelissero<\/a>. The deal covers the next seven years, as the agreement will run through the 2032 season.<\/p>\n News broke Tuesday that the NFLRA had scheduled a ratification vote for this week. Shortly after that vote, it was announced that the CBA had been ratified. The NFL and NFLRA reached common ground after yearslong negotiations stalled this past winter<\/a> and as the May 31 deadline neared<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThis agreement is a testament to the joint commitment of the league and union to invest in and improve officiating,\u201d NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent<\/a> said in a release the league sent out Friday.\u00a0\u201cIt also speaks to the game officials\u2019 relentless pursuit of improvement and officiating excellence. We look forward to working together for the betterment of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n With a new CBA in place, the NFL can scrap a contingency plan that called for replacement officials<\/a> and the enforcement of conditional replay-review rules that would have given NFL headquarters more in-game officiating authority.<\/p>\n Rules, contingent on replacement officials being used, were approved by NFL team owners this spring to give the staffers in the league\u2019s New York officiating command center the ability to consult with a game\u2019s on-field replacement ref on an assortment of penalties, called and uncalled, as well as other administrative procedures, per ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n The NFL began recruiting replacement officials from the college ranks in early March, according to ESPN. Replacement officials were most recently used in 2012 when the lockout of NFL officials followed the previous season’s lockout of NFL players<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In that instance, the replacement officials were used for three weeks of the regular season, a stretch that culminated with the infamous “Fail Mary,” the ruling that incorrectly rewarded the Seattle Seahawks with a game-winning touchdown reception against the Green Bay Packers<\/a> on “Monday Night Football.”<\/p>\n That lockout of officials lasted 110 days.<\/p>\n In March, NFLRA executive director Scott Green said he was surprised the NFL “would even consider” replacement officials after what transpired in 2012, according to ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n