There’s going to be a new breed of officials around the NFL moving forward. In what has been an active offseason on the retirement front, longtime official Gene Steratore has informed the league that he will retire effective immediately.
Gene Steratore, 15-year veteran official, informed me today that he is retiring from the @NFL. Steratore entered the league in 2003, was promoted to referee in 2006, & worked 12 playoff games, ending his career at Super Bowl LII. We wish Gene all the best! pic.twitter.com/MO7Ul8fik9
— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) June 22, 2018
As noted above, Steratore entered the league in 2003 and was promoted to referee just a few short years later. His last game in that role will ultimately be this past February’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots.
At a time when officials around the league have continued to receive flack for the game-calling abilities, Steratore seemingly stood above the rest as a professional and solid official. In addition to his work in the NFL, Steratore has been an NCAA Basketball referee for years now.
With the influx of retirements over the past calendar year, it’s certainly going to be interesting to see if the quality of officiating is downgraded moving forward.