NFL referees strike, explained: What to know about potential replacement refs, next steps amid CBA negotiations

NFL referees strike, explained: What to know about potential replacement refs, next steps amid CBA negotiations originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The NFL has had labor piece on the players' front since the end of the 2011 lockout that threatened the start of the season, but an officiating crisis could be brewing.

Fourteen years after a referee lockout turned ugly and the subsequent hiring of replacement referees went awry, another strike looms. The NFL and NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) operate under a collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire this offseason. Just as players don't play without a collective bargaining agreement, officials won't officiate without a deal.

Here's what you need to know about a potential NFL referees strike and how replacement refs could work. MORE: SN's latest 2026 NFL mock draft NFL referees strike, explained The current agreement between the NFL and NFLRA expires on May 31, at which point referees are expected to strike. While the league and the referees have negotiated, talks reportedly haven't gone far.

ESPN , citing a league source, reported it would take an "act of God" for the two sides to come together on an agreement to come together in time to avoid a strike. The NFL has offered the NFLRA a 6. 45 percent average annual raise, according to ESPN, while also trying to convince the union to agree to "several fundamental changes," including more performance-based assignments.