NFL Rating Refs On Pace Of Games To Increase Marketability

NFL Rating Refs On Pace Of Play In Effort To Retain Fans' Interest

The NFL has begun "rating refs based on how fast games are played -- encouraging them to cut down on time-wasting first-down measurements and long conferences on disputed flags," according to Reuven Blau of the N.Y. POST. The move is an effort to "make the games more marketable, keep TV audiences tuned in, and prevent games from overlapping during Sunday doubleheaders." Games that go over three hours "run the risk of being cut off in the fourth quarter by TV networks required to show local games." A source said the league is "concerned that if it takes the refs five minutes to make a call, then everyone is going to change the channel." Blau reported poor evaluations "could lead to refs not being assigned to work prestigious games like the playoffs and Super Bowl." A source said that the system was "secretly started two years ago," but that the NFL this season "began adding first-down measurements for each game into the equation." NFL Information Manager Randall Liu: "The pace of the game, and not the overall length of the game, is part of the officials' responsibilities" (N.Y. POST, 11/16).