The National Football League’s “Second Season” is finally here.
Six Wild Card games this weekend mark the start of a month-long march to Levi’s Stadium, site of Super Bowl LX.
But the suspense won’t end when a champion is decided at the conclusion of Game 13 on February 8 in Santa Clara, California.
After that, ardent fans of pro football will be asking: Will officials be on strike when the 2026 NFL season begins?
Even in Denver, if somehow the Broncos hoist another Lombardi Trophy at a downtown parade (unlikely as that seems after watching them plod past the Justin Herbert-less Chargers 19-3 last Sunday), that question will be front and center after parade euphoria dies down.
It wouldn’t be the first time the NFL used replacement officials if the 2026 season begins with the NFL’s regular officials locked out or on strike. The first three weeks of games in 2012 were called by scabs, and no one—not players, coaches or fans—was satisfied.
Of course, dissatisfaction is at the heart of the pending dispute. The NFL abhors controversy, and too many on-field rulings are proven to be in error, as things stand now. The union dislikes the solution the league wants to employ.
The current labor contract between the NFL and the union representing the men and women who decide whether or not a caught pass is really a catch, if someone is guilty of holding or interfering with another’s attempt at a pass reception, and numerous other infractions effectively expires when the game clock runs out at Super Bowl LX.
The sides have been meeting, but a recent memo from the league to its teams ominously reported, “Those discussions have been unsuccessful.”
The NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) countered in a statement issued by Executive Director Scott Green that reads:
“Our union’s negotiating committee is working diligently on behalf of members, and we will continue to respect that process. We look forward to our continued conversations with the league as we make progress towards a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement).”
In this case, the biggest obstacle to agreeing on a new labor agreement is an issue that’s as old as unionized labor: seniority.
Unions, virtually without exception, view longevity as inviolate, deserving first claim on whatever perks are associated with the given job (in addition to such staples as choosing vacation time and, in many cases, shifts and days off).
The perk in question in this instance is post-season assignment. The NFL wants its best officials—regardless of length of service—calling the games in the “Second Season.” In typical organized labor policy, the union insists that length of service should take priority over degrees of competence.
And the NFLRA’s current CBA provides that officials must have completed two full seasons on the field before they’re eligible to work “Second Season” games—regardless of their relative performance level.
Keep this in mind as you watch the next month of games. An official’s call that affects the outcome of any game is one bad call too many—whether or not it’s your team that suffers.
Rarely is collective bargaining reduced to a single issue. Working conditions (in this case, performance accountability to determine playoff assignments) and wages (a compensation increase for such an important change) are the major parts of this seniority mix.
Compromise is required.
I left the editorial department of Rocky Mountain News in 1992 at the publisher’s request and spent 10 years as Denver Publishing Company’s head of labor relations.
As such, I negotiated contracts with seven unions representing every aspect of newspaper operations, including a unit that represented such disparate elements as circulation customer services clerks, classified ad takers, paperhandlers, machinists, business office workers and newsroom staff..
I certainly represented company positions that were unpopular with, if not anathema to, various bargaining units.
But I found that explaining the reasoning behind the company’s needs (no matter how long that took) and maintaining a good relationship with each union’s leaders prevented the kind of hard feelings that led to labor unrest.
I’d say that same approach is what’s needed in the bargaining between the NFL and the NFLRA. The league must find a way to convince the union that it should stand for the quality of its product. And the union must receive reasonable increased pay in return.
That’s how it works.
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Denny Dressman writes a weekly sports column for The Villager. You can write to Denny at dennydressman@comcast.net.