{"id":56465,"date":"2017-08-11T13:00:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T20:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=56465"},"modified":"2017-08-11T10:50:39","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T17:50:39","slug":"nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Anticipating Legalized Gambling, Hires Full-Time Refs to Improve Officiating"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an effort to improve the game and with an eye on the possible legalization of sports gambling<\/a> nationwide, the NFL announced Wednesday that it will hire up to 24 full-time referees.<\/p>\n

\"NFL
Some of the NFL Referees will be transitioning from part time to full time in an experimental one-year program. (Image: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) confirmed the news and said between 21 and 24 officials from its current roster of 124 who already work Sunday games will be considered.<\/p>\n

They would be hired at each of the seven on-field officiating positions, not only from among the referees who are the chiefs of the league\u2019s 17 officiating crews.<\/p>\n

This is the culmination of a five-year process that was negotiated between the professional football league and the organization that represents the referees. The deal was signed as part of the collective bargaining agreement in 2012 and terms of the agreement were finally agreed upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this is a great development for NFL officiating overall and ultimately the quality of our game,\u201d Troy Vincent, the NFL\u2019s executive vice president of football operations, said in a written statement. \u201cWe share a common goal, which is to make our game as great as it can possibly be, and look forward to working together on this new effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still Complications<\/h2>\n

Scott Green, executive director of the NFLRA, went on Sirius\/XM NFL Radio and said that there are several details that need to be worked out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the pay going to be?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhat are the responsibilities? None of that has been defined at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another issue is compensation. Most of the current officials have full-time jobs, working as attorneys, financial advisors and insurance agents.<\/p>\n

Working part time was extra money and a full-time salary from the NFL may not be able to equal what they are currently making. Green is confidant the one-year experiment will continue past 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy to be able to come to an agreement, and we\u2019re committed to making it work,\u201d Green said. \u201cAnything that helps the game, we\u2019re 100 percent for that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clear Reasons for Change<\/h2>\n

Football is the only one of the four big professional sports that uses part-time employees to work games. That is something people in the league office wanted to change.<\/p>\n

Another reason for the move was the distinct possibility that sports gambling will be legalized in the US by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court will be hearing a case related to that topic in the Fall and if they don\u2019t agree, Congress could still pass legislation making wagering on sports legal in all states.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Roger Goodell<\/a>, who has had to accept the fact that sports gambling is popular, said two years ago he wanted officials to be the best in any professional league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about integrity of the game, that\u2019s one thing that truly affects the integrity of the game,\u201d Goodell said then. \u201cWe strive for perfection. We strive for consistency. We\u2019re not gonna always get that. But we\u2019re always going to continue to try to get that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an effort to improve the game and with an eye on the possible legalization of sports gambling nationwide, the NFL announced Wednesday that it will hire up to 24 full-time referees. The NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) confirmed the news and said between 21 and 24 officials from its current roster of 124 who already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":56489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNFL Anticipating Legalized Gambling, Hires Full-Time Refs to Improve Officiating<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NFL announced on Wednesday that they will hire up to 24 referees full time in an effort to improve the game.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NFL Anticipating Legalized Gambling, Hires Full-Time Refs to Improve Officiating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NFL announced on Wednesday that they will hire up to 24 referees full time in an effort to improve the game.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-11T20:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-08-11T17:50:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/NFL-referees-game-officials_7925688_ver1.0_640_360.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/\",\"name\":\"NFL Anticipating Legalized Gambling, Hires Full-Time Refs to Improve Officiating\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/NFL-referees-game-officials_7925688_ver1.0_640_360.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-11T20:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-08-11T17:50:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"The NFL announced on Wednesday that they will hire up to 24 referees full time in an effort to improve the game.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nfl-anticipating-legalized-gambling-hires-full-time-refs-improve-officiating\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/NFL-referees-game-officials_7925688_ver1.0_640_360.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/NFL-referees-game-officials_7925688_ver1.0_640_360.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Some of the NFL Referees will be transitioning from part time to full time in an experimental one-year program. 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