The NFL may avoid using replacement officials in 2026 after the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) scheduled a ratification vote on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). According to ESPN, negotiations between the union and the league have advanced sufficiently to prompt the vote, scheduled for Thursday.
This development follows a Tuesday report about the vote and comes one week after the NFL distributed crew assignments for regular officials. The move was widely interpreted as a positive indicator of the talks' trajectory ahead of the current CBA's expiration on May 31.
The NFL had already begun onboarding replacement officials last month as discussions continued. In March, the league approved a rule change allowing expanded use of off-field officials to correct mistakes made by replacement referees during games. However, if the new CBA is ratified, this rule will not take effect, and regular officials will officiate the regular season, which begins in September.
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