The NFL late yesterday reached an eight-year agreement with the NFL Referees Association "to end the lockout of officials." The agreement is "the longest in league history and was hammered out" with the help of mediator Peter Donatello. Some of the key details of the deal are:
- The current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the '16 season.
- Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in '17, through a defined contribution agreement.
- Officials' compensation will increase from an average of $149,000 in '11 to $173,00 in '13 and $205,000 by '19.
- The NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials on a full-time basis starting in '13 (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/27).
NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell is "temporarily lifting the lockout so a crew of regular officials can work" tonight's Browns-Ravens game. The league and the officials' union were "so determined to play no more games with replacements that they raced Wednesday night to get officials in place to work this week's slate of games" (
N.Y. TIMES, 9/27).
The N.Y. POST's Bart Hubbuch writes the deal "wasn't a total victory for the referees, but they appeared to fare much better at the bargaining table on the two main sticking points – the addition of more officials to the current lineup of 121 and the status of their pension plan – than they were expecting" prior to Monday's controversial "MNF" ending.
