Jhelum Mehta
For the first time, the NFL is introducing a practice squad concept to its officiating ranks.
Beginning this season, the league plans to create a pool of up to 12 game officials who will be assigned to specific crews. Including travelling on game weekends, and be ready to step in if a full-time official is sidelined by injury, or simply isn’t performing up to standard.
The move is part of the NFL’s new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association. But this isn’t just about emergency depth. The league also plans to call up officials from the practice squad for regular-season games as part of their development. Giving promising referees valuable game reps, much like teams do with players looking to earn a permanent roster spot.
College Officials Could Earn NFL Call-Ups Under New League Plan
NFL insider Adam Schefter broke the news on X. Not everyone is sold on the idea, though. Critics point to similar initiatives that never fully materialized under the league’s previous CBA in 2019.
There are also concerns about throwing inexperienced officials into meaningful regular-season snaps and reducing opportunities for veteran refs already fighting for limited game assignments. Still, after two years of negotiations, and growing talk of a potential lockout and replacement officials. The NFL and the NFL Referees Association finally reached common ground. The officiating practice squad became one of several notable changes included in the new deal.
The league is also expanding its development pipeline. Officials will now have 14 dedicated training dates baked into a longer offseason program, while lower-graded referees could eventually get extra reps in the United Football League. For the first time, officiating crews have also been participating in OTAs and minicamps this spring, mirroring the preparation of NFL teams. Under the old CBA, the NFL employed 119 officials spread across 17 crews, along with two veteran “swing officials” who could bounce between crews as injury replacements. The new agreement expands that pool to 12 swing officials, effectively creating the league’s first officiating practice squad.
Perhaps the most intriguing wrinkle: four of those new spots will be reserved for college officials. They’ll get preseason reps in the NFL and return to officiate their college schedules. And then rejoin NFL crews once the college season wraps up—giving the league a fresh pipeline of developing talent waiting for a call-up.
