NFL and NFLRA reach agreement, end lockout – NFL News
The National Football League (NFL) and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) have reached an agreement for an eight-year long new collective bargaining agreement, much to the relief of all league franchises that are desperate to see the regular officials back
on the field.
The agreement, which is yet to be signed, was reached on Wednesday night between the representatives of two parties while officials from Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service were also present.
The referees will start officiating immediately as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has lifted the lockout that kept the referees away from the first three games of the season.
Thursday night’s game between Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens will see the regular referees performing their duties while it has also brought an end to the gloomy phase where replacement referees performed duties on the field and their decisions were
severely criticised by nearly everyone.
Week 3 stood out among all the first three weeks as far as witnessing bizarre incidents is concerned. Nearly every team, in some way, was affected by some questionable decisions from these refs. Furthermore, Monday night’s game between Seattle Seahawks and
Green Bay Packers concluded Week 3 with the weirdest call of the week from the refs when they awarded a touchdown to Seahawks, who won the game.
Both parties are expected to officially sign the new agreement after Thursday’s game, but since the draft has been agreed upon the lockout was lifted.
Goodell said in a statement:
“The long-term future of our game requires that we seek improvement in every area, including officiating. This agreement supports long-term reforms that will make officiating better. The teams, players and fans want and deserve both consistency and quality
in officiating.”
The statement further said:
"We look forward to having the finest officials in sports back on the field, and I want to give a special thanks to NFL fans for their passion. Now it's time to put the focus back on the teams and players where it belongs.”
Meanwhile, the refs are also excited about rejoining the game. ESPN quoted NFL RA president Scott Green as saying:
"We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games.”
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