The 2012 NFL season–riddled with replacement referees, blown calls, and wrongful wins–could finally be saved. A report by ESPN Senior NFL Analyst Chris Mortensen states that the NFL and referees, represented by their union the NFLRA, have come close enough to reaching a compromise that the refs could be back to officiating as early as this Sunday. The two parties met on Tuesday night until 2 a.m. to make an agreement, though solely in principle. NFL owners are reportedly sticking to their guns with a “no compromise” position.
According to the report,
“Although league sources said it would take a week to get the locked-out officials on the field, the NFLRA says its 121 referees have been trained on the new rules implemented last season, have already passed physicals or are prepared to pass physicals immediately. New official game uniforms designed by Nike are ‘hardly an obstacle,’ according to a source. Both sides have made concessions on previous sticking points such as a taxi squad of 21 new officials and pension plans that sources say the final meaningful hurdle is, as one source said, ‘about a little more money.”
Despite it’s staunch stance on the issue, the NFL is willing to construct a new agreement with the NFLPA primarily in the form of a “ratification bonus,” which would compensate its 121-member union for concessions it is willing to make. It is important to note that these agreements and concessions have not been finalized and there is still plenty of negotiating to take place.
The past three weeks have proven catastrophic with the likes of Green Bay losing a last-second thriller to Seattle, Bill Belichick being fined $50,000 for trying to get a ref’s attention, and players blowing up all across the twittersphere as an outlet for their frustrations.
But what about the fans? The fans are the ones taking the brunt of the strike. Today’s pastime has been marred by shotty officiating to the point where Green Bay, a Super Bowl contender every year, has seen it’s vegas odds of winning the Lombardi Trophy changed for the worse because of ref’s latest blunder. The signal caller for the Pack, Aaron Rodgers, feels for the fans too. In an interview with Milwaukee’s ESPN 540 Radio yesterday the gun-slinger noted
“I just feel bad for the fans. They pay good money and the game is being tarnished by an NFL who obviously cares more about saving a little money then having the integrity of the game diminish a little bit.”
Stay tuned for the latest news coming from the NFL and NFLRA.
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