NFL to start training replacement officials in May amid refs labor drama

Jason Sargent Thursday, April 9, 2026

Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAYThu, April 9, 2026 at 2:30 PM UTC

The NFL plans to start training potential replacement officials, according to a memo from the NFL to teams and obtained by USA TODAY Sports. NFL Network first obtained the memo.

The league and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) remain at odds, with the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expiring on May 31. The memo, from senior vice president of officiating Perry Fewell and addressed to NFL head coaches and general managers, says teams must submit their OTA and mandatory minicamp schedules to the league's officiating department by April 22, so the NFL can assign replacement officials to those practices starting June 1.

All 32 teams conduct a three-day mandatory minicamp in June – the earliest start June 2 (Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers) – and also have multiple OTA dates after June 1.

Scott Green, executive director of the NFLRA, told USA TODAY Sports on March 25 that the NFL rejected the union’s counterproposal before talks stalled.

"The league remains committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement with the NFLRA," the memo states.

Team owners responded by voting the annual league meetings in Arizona on March 31 to expand the use of replay from NFL headquarters that 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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According to an earlier memo obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the NFL has identified six areas of focus that it believes will improve performance of game officials and increase accountability.

“The officials are engaged in a part-time job,” NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller told reporters on a Zoom call last month. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to find time to work with the ones who need some assistance, education and training to improve. We deserve that. The fans deserve that. The players and coaches deserve that, and they’re held to account just like everybody else is. And officials should be in that same bucket.

Contributing: Jarrett Bell