Source: Gap between NFL, officials is as much as $70 million

[Tribal Warfare]

Source: Gap between NFL, officials is as much as $70 million
Posted by Mike Florio on September 4, 2012, 9:10 AM EDT

The NFL has been driving a hard bargain with the locked-out officials. Now that the replacements are looking like they need to be replaced, the locked-out officials are driving a hard bargain right back at the league.

The best evidence that the regular officials believe they have the upper hand comes from a Monday report that some are determined to sit out for months, if that’s what it takes to get the deal they want.

“This is a battle of right and wrong,” one unnamed official told Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com. “We are willing to wait for as long as it takes.”

Sorry, unnamed official, but that overstates the situation — and invites a backlash. While plenty of fans believe that the NFL is being obstinate because it can, plenty of other fans believe that the locked-out officials incorrectly assume that their income should grow at the same rate the league’s revenues are growing.

NFLRA spokesman Michael Arnold explained to PFT via email on Monday that the officials’ current proposal would have a total cost $30 million in 2012 in salary and benefits.

It’s still not clear what the precise gap is. A league source tells PFT that, when the parties met on Saturday, the NFLRA reverted to their pre-lockout position, which creates a gap of up to $70 million over the seven-year life of the deal.

If that calculation of the gap is based on the NFLRA’s representation of the officials’ position, this means the NFL is offering a total package worth as little as $20 million — and that the gap extends to as much as $10 million per year.

It could be that the parties have an incentive to overstate the divide in order to avoid external pressure on either side to close it. Regardless, it looks like the replacement officials will get their first close up on Wednesday night, whether they’re ready for it or not.

[ElGringo]

Originally Posted by Dave

Where the NFL ****ed up with these replacement officials, is they CLEARLY did not train these guys at all. They don't know all the rules. This is obvious.

Seems they just tossed them into the fire.

I thought I read here much earlier that the people in charge of training the refs got fired and had to turn in there computers because they refused to train the replacements.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by ElGringo

I thought I read here much earlier that the people in charge of training the refs got fired and had to turn in there computers because they refused to train the replacements.

Yep.

[tk13]

You'd think the officials' best strategy would be to wait a bit, but then put pressure on early in the season when the replacements blow some games.

This is all part of the NFL becoming a huge monster though. The NFL signs all these contracts worth billions of dollars, and everyone wants their piece. It's why the owners locked out the players, now the refs are doing this.

[WV]

Originally Posted by jspchief

If the NFL was smart they'd tell the refs to get ****ed and just rebuild the entire system. Make it a full time year round job with training in the offseason. They could lure in whoever they wanted, including top college crews if it was a permanent job.

The existing problem is all the current refs are rich professionals that treat it like a side business.

Well said....and dis-allow the NFLRA while they're at it, seriously why do they need a freaking Association of their own. They are referee's for cripes sakes and letting them have the stupid NFLRA allows stupid crap like them holding out to happen.

[Discuss Thrower]

The refs can fist themselves.

Either they want their careers as lawyers and the like, or they want to be officials at the highest level of the most popular sport in America.

Also they need to decide to enforce rules on a consistent basis.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

[B][SIZE="5"]

“This is a battle of right and wrong,” one unnamed official told Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com. “We are willing to wait for as long as it takes.”

No, this is mostly a battle over guaranteed lifetime pension benefits, which is something that all private businesses are moving away from because of the carnage that it costs as people live longer.

Full time NFL employees (front office, players, etc.) don't get this, so why should part time refs get this?

Right, they shouldn't.

I'm going to really, REALLY hate replacement refs, but I don't give a damn about the regular refs if they're sticking to their guns on this (and they are, it's apparently one of the biggest sticking points).

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by jspchief

The existing problem is all the current refs are rich professionals that treat it like a side business.

Really? What's your definition of a "rich professional"?

Everything I've ever heard says that the NFL referees have to keep their full-time jobs because they don't get paid enough by the NFL to BE full-time officials.

It took less than 30 seconds to find this with Google:

SPORT..........AVERAGE SALARY OF OFFICIALS
NFL..............Between $25K and $70K
MLB..............$141K
NBA..............$128K
NHL..............$139K

It doesn't sound like the referees are the ones at fault here. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. I think they can afford full-time referees.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by WV

Well said....and dis-allow the NFLRA while they're at it, seriously why do they need a freaking Association of their own. They are referee's for cripes sakes and letting them have the stupid NFLRA allows stupid crap like them holding out to happen.

You don't seem to understand labor laws too well. Federal law lets them form a union. Nothing the NFL can do to stop it.

[WV]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

You don't seem to understand labor laws too well. Federal law lets them form a union. Nothing the NFL can do to stop it.

That is true, but there are ways for them to let it be known that they will not negotiate or settle with a Unionized work force. Companies do it all the time.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

Really? What's your definition of a "rich professional"?

Everything I've ever heard says that the NFL referees have to keep their full-time jobs because they don't get paid enough by the NFL to BE full-time officials.

It took less than 30 seconds to find this with Google:

SPORT..........AVERAGE SALARY OF OFFICIALS
NFL..............Between $25K and $70K
MLB..............$141K
NBA..............$128K
NHL..............$139K

It doesn't sound like the referees are the ones at fault here. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. I think they can afford full-time referees.

Yeah, but the season is the shortest length wise and number of games.

[scho63]

I equate this situation to this...same bad idea

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0191397/

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by morphius

Yeah, but the season is the shortest length wise and number of games.

That's a terrible argument. You don't base an employee's salary on the number of hours he works. You base it upon the value the position has to the organization.

Would you advocate paying NFL players one-tenth of what MLB players make? After all, they only play 16 games in football. In baseball they play 162. Obviously baseball players should make 10 times as much as football players!

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by WV

That is true, but there are ways for them to let it be known that they will not negotiate or settle with a Unionized work force. Companies do it all the time.

This is the NFL, not some small shipping company or whatever. Hell, labor lawyers might take a heavy discount on their normal fees to sue the NFL and get the vast free publicity that such a case would give. The NFL would get toasted.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

That's a terrible argument. You don't base an employee's salary on the number of hours he works. You base it upon the value the position has to the organization.

Would you advocate paying NFL players one-tenth of what MLB players make? After all, they only play 16 games in football. In baseball they play 162. Obviously baseball players should make 10 times as much as football players!

"You don't base an employee's salary on the number of hours he works"

I think that is generally part of the equation. What you are essentially saying is that someone who works a weekend doing the same job that someone else does 5 days a week should be compensated exactly the same?

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

Really? What's your definition of a "rich professional"?

Everything I've ever heard says that the NFL referees have to keep their full-time jobs because they don't get paid enough by the NFL to BE full-time officials.

It took less than 30 seconds to find this with Google:

SPORT..........AVERAGE SALARY OF OFFICIALS
NFL..............Between $25K and $70K
MLB..............$141K
NBA..............$128K
NHL..............$139K

It doesn't sound like the referees are the ones at fault here. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. I think they can afford full-time referees.

The refs are fighting AGAINST being full-time

the NFL wants some full-time refs

what do those numbers break down PER game?