Ongoing labor negotiations between the NFL and NFL Referees Association broke off earlier than scheduled this week as the sides were unable to make progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement, sources told ESPN.
Talks were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, according to sources, but ended after Wednesday morning’s session.
The NFLRA’s collective bargaining agreement expires May 31, and concern about the distance between the sides has prompted the NFL to begin the process of vetting and hiring replacement officials for the 2026 season.
“We continue to focus on investing in accountability and performance in our officiating,” the NFL said in a statement released Thursday. “[NFLRA executive director] Scott [Green] and his team haven’t changed their approach in almost two years, continuing to demand raises at almost double the rates of the increases realized by the players over the course of this CBA and, in addition, millions of dollars in marketing fees that rank-and-file union members never see.
“We are ready to continue negotiations to reach a fair and reasonable agreement, but in the meantime, while the union refuses to engage in a meaningful way, we will continue to prepare for the expiration of the current agreement because we will be playing football in August.”
One source said Wednesday that the NFLRA refused to engage on one of the league’s priorities: to improve officiating performance.
Green said in a statement that he made a counterproposal that the NFL rejected.
“Today the NFLRA Negotiating Team showed up to what was supposed to be the start of a two-day session with the League to make progress towards a new Collective Bargaining Agreement,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, it was soon clear that the NFL did not arrive with the same level of commitment.”
Green added in his statement: “We asked that they respond to our offer with the goal of making forward progress. We then learned that no one in their delegation was authorized to negotiate beyond their original proposal, and at that time they chose to leave, after less than half a day of talks.”
In an email sent later Wednesday to NFLRA membership from a source, the members were informed that the “lack of respect and recognition of our value to the game was an insulting representation of the current League’s position.”
“Do not be alarmed as this is a negotiating tactic they have used in the past and will be an attempt to disrupt our united position of working to achieve a fair deal,” the source stated in the email obtained by ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler. “We are obviously not at that point.”
The NFL Players Association weighed in with its own statement to ESPN on Wednesday.
“This is not just a labor issue between the league and officials,” an NFLPA spokesperson said. “This directly impacts the working conditions of our player members. We are closely monitoring the situation.”
The meeting came one day after the NFL competition committee released a significant rule proposal that would centralize many in-game officiating responsibilities within the league’s New York City command center if there is a work stoppage.
NFL officials are not full-time employees of the league. According to sources, the average NFL official last season earned about $350,000 annually as part of a multipronged compensation structure that includes game fees, bonuses, meeting fees, preparation fees and other benefits.
The NFL has offered a 10% increase in game fees across the board in the regular season and up to 30% for those who work the Super Bowl, sources said. The league is also seeking agreements to improve officiating performance, in part by redirecting annual bonus money toward high-performing officials and increasing the probationary period for new officials, which currently stands at three years.
The NFLRA is hoping to lower the probationary period, ESPN’s Kahler has reported.
