Posted in: NFL, Sports | Tagged: entertainment, nfl, NFLRA, Referees, sports, Troy Vincent

Up To 24 Full-Time NFL Referees To Be Hired For 2017 Season

The NFL and NFL Referees Association announced today that they will be hiring up to 24 full-time officials for the upcoming 2017 season. This represents about 10 percent of the 124-person roster of officials currently being used. The announcement was made in a joint statement.

Troy Vincent, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, said:

We believe this is a great development for NFL officiating overall and ultimately the quality of our game. We 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.

Scott Green, the NFLRA executive director, said:

NFL officials are always looking to improve, and we believe that additional time, particularly in the offseason, will be positive. We're looking forward to working together with the league on this effort.

The plan, which has been worked on since the league's competition committee recommended the shift during the spring meetings, will be to hire full-time officials at each of the seven officiating positions and the may serve on each of the 17 officiating crews. There are 17 officiating crews of seven people each along with five substitute officials who are ready if needed, making a total of 124 officials. Up until now, officials worked as contractors to the league and maintained unrelated full-time jobs. An situation that many fans, coaches and players believe limited the effectiveness of officiating.

We expect to hear more details about the plan soon.

Source: ESPN.

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