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I love watching NFL matches and I am sure you all do too! After all National Football League (NFL) is one of the main sports events that everyone waits for.
It is common knowledge that NFL players get paid in millions. But do you ever wonder what salary the referees get? I am sure, this question must have crossed your mind at some point. New Zealand’s DashTickets magazine has compiled statistics and conducted a study on the average salary in NFL leagues and provided us for the preparation of this study. DashTickets collects statistics on soccer, basketball, and rugby leagues, prepares analytical reviews, and researches the betting industry and online casinos.
As someone who easily gets curious about things, I did my research. If you would like to know what the average salary of an NFL referee is, you should give this post a read.
How much does an NFL referee make?
Before getting into the details, let me tell you that referees’ salary is governed by an agreement between the NFLRA (NFL Referees Association) and the union body that represents them. As far as I know, they signed the latest contract in 2019, which will stay valid till 2026. If you take a look at the previous agreements, you will get an idea about how much a referee gets paid.
As per the agreement, an NFL referee earns around $205,000. This is the average pay mentioned in the 2019 agreement, while the top paying according to DashTickets.NZ earns $500,000 dollars.
In the previous agreement which was signed in 2011, the game officials were paid an average of $149,000. This means, their salary increased by 38% in 2019, and it shall increase even further in the future.
It is worth highlighting that each NFL referee is entitled to officiate 19 games per season. This also includes preseason clinics and matchups.
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How much do NFL referees earn per match?
Now let me tell you the amount they earn per match. Well, their salaries per match depend on their experience. To put it simply, referees with more experience are entitled to higher pay than those who don’t.
Based on my research, I can tell that NFL referees with two or fewer years of experience earn around $1000 per game. On the other hand, referees who have five or more years of experience get paid about $3000 per game.
For referees who have been in the profession for decades, they get paid as high as $10,000 per game.
How much does an NFL referee make for the Super Bowl?
I am sure every one of you knows what Super Bowl is. It’s America’s version of football or soccer. Now that you have an idea about the base salary of NFL referees in season matches, you might wonder if they get paid more in the Super Bowl.
From what I know the specific details about their salary are not revealed. However, they do get a bonus for officiating Super Bowl matches. According to DashTickets magazine, NFL referees get paid up to $205,000 for officiating matches. However, that changes each time they renew their contract. As for Super Bowl, their salary and bonus range between $54,428 and $462,622.
With Mark Dash from DashTickets research, I found out that recently the referees managed to convince the concerned authorities to deposit a sum of $18,000 in their pension fund. This amount is much higher than many other professionals in the country.
Given the salary structure of the NFL referees, I can tell that they are getting paid well. In my opinion, working as a game official is not too bad.
After reading my post, it should be clear that NFL referees are paid well. Their salary per game is determined based on their experience. But when officiating the Super Bowl, they also get paid a bonus. Overall, the pay is good and the average salary is decided in the agreement signed between the NFLRA and the union.
