By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas (AP) - NFL
officials ended their labor dispute with the league by approving a new
eight-year contract with a 112-5 vote Saturday, then hustled off to the
airport to get to work.
Next stop, stadiums around the country.
And, the officials hope, anonymity.
"The last Super Bowl that I
worked, when we got in the locker room, I said, 'You know, the best
thing about this game, nobody will remember who refereed this game,'"
said Scott Green, president of the referees' association. "That's how we
like to work."
The vote ended a labor spat
that created three weeks of increasingly chaotic games run by
replacement officials who drew criticism of everyone from the average
fan to President Barack Obama.
"It was pretty much 'Come
on in and vote,'" Green said. "We're going to talk football now. We're
going to stop talking about CBAs and lockouts and now we're going to
talk about rules and video and getting ourselves ready to work football
games."
They may get ovations
similar to the one bestowed on the crew that worked Thursday's
Cleveland-Baltimore game with the tentative deal in place.
The referees met for about
an hour and a half Friday night to go over the contract, then gathered
for another 30 minutes Saturday morning before approving the contract.
"We are obviously pleased to hear it," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday.
Because they were aware of
the financial parameters, most of the discussion by the referees
involved non-economic issues such as year-round work and developmental
squads, said Tim Millis, the association's executive director.
The deal came together
quickly this week after an increasing chorus of complaints became
impossible to ignore when a disputed touchdown call on the final play
gave the Seattle Seahawks a victory over the Green Bay Packers on
national television Monday night.
Many thought the ruling of a
Seattle touchdown instead of a Green Bay interception was botched, and
the labor dispute drew public comments from Obama and his Republican
challenger Mitt Romney.
By late Wednesday, the
sides had a contract calling for refs' salaries to increase from an
average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to
$205,000 by 2019. The current defined benefit pension plan will remain
in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the
official earns 20 years' service.
The defined benefit plan
will then be frozen. Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires,
and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined
contribution.
Beginning with the 2013
season, the NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials to
work year-round. The NFL also can retain additional officials for
training and development and assign those officials to work games. The
number of additional officials will be determined by the league.
The officials that worked
Thursday's Ravens-Browns game were cheered from the moment they walked
onto the field. The difference between the regular crew and replacements
was clear. The officials kept the game in control, curtailing the
chippy play and choppy pace that had marred the first three weeks of the
regular season.
"I think the thing we're
most proud of is the lesson that we all learned," Green said. "If you're
going to be in a professional league, you've got top-notch coaches, you
need professional officials as well."
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