Getty Image
Aaron Rodgers believes he knows why the NFL continues to struggle with officiating issues. He also has a solution to offer.
The Green Bay passer agrees that there’s been a steep decline in referee quality of late. Many around the league are with him.
NFL officiating crews have been the subject of criticism for as long as anyone can remember, and that was on full display in the 2022 season. Fans are lost on what’s a catch, what warrants targeting, and how it’s possible to sack a quarterback without receiving a penalty.
In many cases this year, we saw those questionable calls influence the outcomes of games.
The Bucs were gifted a win over the Falcons due to an egregious roughing the passer penalty early in the season. Kansas City nearly dropped a game against Las Vegas for a similar call on Chris Jones.
The latter was deemed to be the wrong call by former VP of NFL officiating, Mike Pereira. The veteran referee, however, was unable to make a correction in real time. Why?
He’s currently working as an officiating analyst for FOX.
This was Rodgers’ point when asked about the recent refereeing struggles around the league. He went in depth while making an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
“The best refs that we’ve had in the league are on TV now. They’re not working in the league office, they’re on TV. Gene Steratore (CBS), my favorite ref of all time. One of the best guys at understanding how to… control a game without being a part of it. Gene was incredible at that. But Gene’s on TV now, why? Because they pay more.”
The passer says that there were “eight or nine really good” head officials as recently as five years ago, but they’ve all moved on. Many, including Steratore, Pereira, Dean Blandino, Terry McAulay, and John Parry are now working for major television networks.
Rodgers has the solution, though. Pay them what they want.
“If the league was smart, they would go grab one of those guys, pay them whatever the hell they want and make this a little easier for the refs because they have a tough job to do, but there are some things to be simplified.”
That might include full-time referees, which has also been suggested by Aaron Rodgers as he hopes to improve the league’s struggles. With the money that the NFL brings in, one of the top focuses should be on fixing its officiating problem.