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 A sociation (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: 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. , citing a league source, reported it would take an "act of God" for the two sides to come together on an agreement Paris Saint-Germain Jersey 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 a signments. NFL referees were previously locked out by the NFL during the 2012 offseason, and the two sides didn't reach an agreement until late September. Here's what you need to know about replacement refs, who took over for the locked-out officials in 2012. MORE: What are NFL replacement refs? Replacement refs are typically college-level officials temporarily hired by the NFL to fill the void when its own referees are in the midst of a work stoppage. The hiring of replacement refs can be a negotiating tactic, giving the NFL some leverage to say the league doesn't immediately need its full-time officials, but they became nece sary for actual games in 2012 when the referee lockout dragged out through all of the preseason and into the regular season. The NFL has already compiled a list of potential replacement refs and plans to start training them after May 1 if an agreement isn't reached, ESPN reported. Has the NFL used replacement refs before? The NFL has twice used replacement refs before, deploying them in 2001 and 2012. A referee strike lasted into the 2001 regular season, leading the NFL to use replacement refs in Week 1, and the plan was to use them in Week 2 until the Sept. 11th attacks put a pause on the season. After Week 2 games were rescheduled to January, the NFL and NFLRA came to an agreement in time for full-time officials to return to work for the new Week 2 slate. In 2012, the use of replacement refs accelerated negotiations between the league and the officials. Replacement refs officiated games for the first three weeks of the season and drew criticism for their performance, with criticism reaching a boiling point after a "Monday Night Football" game between the and in Week 3. The game ended with one official calling a touchdown and another calling an interception in the end zone as WR Golden Tate and S M.D. Jennings both got their hands on the ball. After discu sion, the result of the play was controversially determined to be a touchdown, and many believed an offensive pa s interference penalty was mi sed. With that game in a national TV slot, pre sure built on the NFL to end the lockout, and the two sides reached an agreement le s than 48 hours later. The NFL didn't start training replacement refs until July during the 2012 dispute, according to ESPN. The league plans to avoid another catastrophe by starting training in May this time around. MORE: How much does an NFL referee make? An average NFL referee made$385,000 in 2025, according to ESPN, though not all officials actually make that amount of money. The NFL is reportedly proposing an average annual raise of 6.45 percent, which would bring the average salary to just shy of $410,000. How much is an NFL referee paid per game? The a typical official works 14 games in a season, so a $385,000 annual salary would come out to $27,500 per game, not including playoff games or preseason a signments. Colombia Jersey