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The NFL is seeking to create a practice squad of officials and wants postseason assignments to be based on performance rather than seniority.
Those are among the key points league executive Troy Vincent emphasized to owners in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.
The league and the NFL Referees Association have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the summer of 2024. The current CBA expires on May 31, 2026.
So far, discussions with the game officials' union have been unsuccessful, according to a memo that was sent to teams and obtained by The Associated Press.
"We strive for excellence in all aspects of the game, including officiating," Vincent said. "Throughout the course of collective bargaining, the NFL has remained focused on implementing changes to the agreement (and otherwise exercising our rights) in ways that will improve the performance of game officials, increase accountability, and ensure that the highest-performing officials are officiating our highest-profile games. Our priority is to have the best officials on the field, a performance-based model."
The league wants compensation tied to performance so that only high-performing game officials during the regular season share in the year-end bonus pool.
The league is also seeking greater flexibility to ensure the best officials are on the field during the postseason. The current CBA includes seniority as a factor in making postseason assignments. Vincent said the union wants to keep seniority as a factor.
The union could not immediately be reached for comment on the league's proposals.
Training and development is another area highlighted by the NFL.
"Mandatory training and development programs are essential for low-performing and probationary officials. The union is resisting our efforts to give these officials access to more practice repetitions," Vincent said.
Currently, the league has no communication with game officials during the roughly three-month stretch between the Super Bowl and May 15.
"We believe shortening that dead period and increasing access to all game officials for rules discussions, video review, mechanics, and appropriate football operations and committee meetings will improve the game and game officials' performance," Vincent said.
The league is also seeking to extend the probationary period during which new game officials are assessed in order to gain flexibility to remove those who are underperforming. The union's last proposal called for the elimination of the probationary period entirely, according to the memo.
"We will continue to advocate for changes to our collective bargaining agreement that will improve training, reward performance and increase accountability," the memo said. "These measures and the continued incorporation of technology, including the expanded use of replay assist, will further improve officiating."
The league is exploring the possibility of adding several more plays to replay assist in 2026, including crackback blocks, low blocks/clipping, blindside blocks, intentional grounding to determine a receiver's position on the field and illegal formation on kickoffs to determine feet on the ground when the ball is touched.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
