NFL ROOKIE COMPENSATION

[Anonymous]

The media and the public have been struggling with what NFL Officials do, how that compares with other jobs in the same arena and the impact that comparison has on the proposal of the NFLRA to the National Football League for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Is an NFL Rookie official worth three, four or five times the compensation paid to Replay Assistants?

NFL Replay Assistants and their video operator partners bring up video in response to Coaches' Challenges and present those images to the Referee, for his decision. The maximum number of Coaches' Challenges in a game is four (4). The average number of replay stoppages per game, including Coaches' Challenges and stoppages inside 2 minutes, for the 2000 season was 1.5 Replay stoppages per game.

Inside of two minutes of each half, Replay Assistants, stop the game to have the Referee make a decision on the video of the play under review. By their very nature, replay stoppages inside of two minutes are often game breakers. Replay Assistants make NO decision. The Referee in most cases is making a decision based on a ruling by another official, quite possibly the on field instantaneous decision by our NFL rookie official.

Replay Assistants never make a final decision

Replay Assistants do not study the rules in season or in the off
Season

Replay assistants are not expected to know the rules as manifested in the following facts:
a) They are not required to complete the 350 question pre-season rules exams.
b) They do not take the clinic rules exam.
c) They are not expected to complete the 15 weekly rules tests administered throughout the season.

Replay Assistants are not subjected to medical testing

Replay Assistants are not subjected to physical testing

Replay Assistants are not required to maintain a high level of physical fitness

Replay Assistants are not exposed to the risk of injury

Replay Assistants are not subjected to random drug testing

Replay Assistants have no public scrutiny

Replay Assistants in many cases have NEVER officiated a NFL Game

Replay Assistants in some cases have NEVER officiated a football game of any kind

Replay Assistants are not required to break down or review game tapes

Replay Assistants attend perhaps one third of the 3-4 hour Saturday pre-game and, as a group, they just sit in the meeting with little or no active participation



NFL Rookie officials must have a minimum of 10 years of officiating experience with five years at the major collegiate varsity level. Replay Assistants have no minimum requirements. The NFL rookie official has enormous on field responsibility and accountability on every play of a game. This same rookie official is subjected to unprecedented, detailed review and scrutiny of his on field performance. An NFL rookie official has enormous on-field responsibilities. He is evaluated on every play of every game. Replay Assistants are not reviewed on every play of every game. Rookie officials have weekly telephone conferences with their assigned trainer to evaluate their performance of the previous week's game.
Replay Assistants have nothing approaching the Rookie official's level of responsibility for a maximum of perhaps 6 plays per game. Replay Assistants are never responsible for a final decision. Again for this minor level of responsibility and authority Replay Assistants receives $2,000 per game. The NFL rookie official who must make instantaneous decisions on every play received $1,431.

The NFL pays the Replay Assistants "in the booth," a support mechanism, for on field officials, for on the average less than 1% of the actual games, $2,000.00. In view of this level of compensation game officials believed that the NFL understood the roles and responsibilities of on field officials. NFL officials, logically believed, the League was preparing to dramatically increase the compensation paid to the professional game officials, for their contribution in officiating 100% of the game. The League paid their officiating staff, in many cases, up to 35% less than they were paying Replay Assistants who only monitor or actually involve themselves in about 1% of the game. The NFLRA has never questioned the pay structure for Replay Assistants.

THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE RAISED THE ECONOMIC BAR!

I invite you to use your own judgment. Is an NFL rookie official worth three, four, five or more times the annual compensation paid to Replay Assistants?

[BktBallRef]

I don't care.