The NFL could be bracing for a different start to the season. Currently, the league is in discussions with the NFL Referees Association, whose CBA expires at the end of May. Without a deal, the league will revert to replacement referees, just as it did in 2012.
Why NFL Referee CBA Talks Broke Down After Half a Day
The two sides scheduled a two-day round of talks, but the talks broke down on the first day in the morning. According to a statement released by the NFL Referees Association, no one involved in the talks was authorized to negotiate beyond their original proposal.
The NFL Referees Association has released the following statement that negotiations toward a new CBA broke down after less than half a day, citing a lack of commitment from the NFL and claiming no one present was authorized to move beyond the league’s original proposal.
Simply… pic.twitter.com/PxuynYHLhO
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 25, 2026
With the current CBA expiring at the end of May, there’s still plenty of time to negotiate and get a deal done. The league hopes to avoid the same chaos as the 2012 season, when replacement referees officiated the first three weeks, and mistakes decided many games.
The most famous example occurred in the last game with replacement referees, when a clear interception was ruled a game-winning touchdown (and confirmed after review) in a Monday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers. The infamous game became known as the “Fail Mary.”
A controversial call involving Bill Belichick’s team and a referee change hours before a Week 2 contest were also part of the chaos of the 2012 season. The league reached an agreement with the NFLRA two days after the “Fail Mary,” and the NFL referees were back to work just one day later.
The same statement says that the association “has come to learn that this is a common negotiation tactic used by the league to seek unreasonable concessions.” Unlike discussions with the NFLPA, discussions about the referees are less common with the public.
Fans will also hope that the two sides can find common ground and extend their partnership into the upcoming season. There was nothing to gain for any side when replacement referees were used in 2012, and no one wants to see games defined by mistakes once again, even if the “Fail Mary” became a notorious play in the league’s folklore.
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The NFL also released a list of rule changes proposed by the competition committee if a work stoppage is confirmed by the referees, including the possibility of league staff alerting a replacement referee if clear evidence is observed during an uncalled roughing-the-passer penalty.
The group of replacement referees would be composed mostly of officials from small colleges.
