When Opportunity Knocks

[Rich]

Originally Posted by IUgrad92

Are these guys officiating for the love of the game or something else?

I don't think this is relevant at the higher levels. I officiate HS football for the love of the game. That $60 (cut down by at least $30 once I pay for dinner and gas) isn't a life-changer. My $150 on Saturdays takes anywhere from 8-16 hours to earn. Again, not a life-changer for anyone.

$4500/game is a couple of mortgage payments. It's college tuition. That's $18000/month during the season. This is a second job for most NFL officials, not just something they do because it's fun.

The comment above is a good one -- many people want NFL guys to be full-time. The NFL wants this to a certain degree for a number of their officials. They also want to be able to fire these guys or put them on the bench pretty easily if someone judges they performed poorly. If I was an NFL official, I'm not sure I'd respond well to that, either.