NFLPA is "closely monitoring" NFL's labor situation with game officials

The NFL has two different unions with which it must negotiate labor deals. The contract with the NFL Players Association covers five more seasons. The contract with the NFL Referees Association covers none.

With the rhetoric ramping up between the league and the NFLRA — and with the league making plans to lock out the officials and once again hire rank amateurs to work games at the highest levels of the sport — the NFLPA is paying attention. "This is not just a labor issue between the league and officials," the NFLPA said in a statement issued to PFT on Wednesday night. "This directly impacts the working conditions of our player members.

We are closely monitoring the situation. " The game officials are essentially the first responders when it comes to player safety. For low-level college officials and high-school officials who'll get the replacement assignments, it's too much to expect them to know the NFL's rules, to apply the NFL's rules, and to ensure that the NFL's players are at all times protected.

The union's statement meshes with recent comments made by incoming executive director JC Tretter with Pat McAfee. "I'm going to talk to the refs' union," Tretter said. "I'll talk to [Commissioner] Roger [Goodell], too.