The NFL is attempting to protect itself in case it can’t reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) before its 2026 season.
How? The league is instituting a new rule that could help it assist replacement officials should they be employed during the 2026 NFL season.
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The NFL’s new rule will “allow the NFL Officiating Department to correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials that impact the game, in the event that there is a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association.”
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The NFL approved the rule change – which will be in place “for one year only” – at the league’s annual meeting on March 31.
The NFL’s rule change comes exactly two months before the CBA between the league and the NFLRA expires on May 31. The two parties have failed to make significant progress on a new CBA, with negotiations between them stalling and the NFL moving to hire potential replacement officials from the college ranks for the 2026 season.
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The NFL has locked out its officials before, with the 2012 season the most recent example of a labor stoppage. The league used replacement officials for the first three weeks of the season, before the infamous “Fail Mary” in a game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers on “Monday Night Football” prompted the league to quickly hammer out a deal for the referees to return.
The NFL will be hoping to avoid a similar fate if replacement officials are used in 2026. That was the main impetus behind the one-year trial of the new rule, which will allow the league’s officiating department in New York to overturn “obvious misses by on-field officials” using video replay.
Now, the main question is whether the league will actually need to enforce that rule or can agree to a new labor pact with its officials before the 2026 season begins.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New NFL rule introduced as stand-off with referees continues
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