By BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - So long, replacement refs. The NFL's regular crews will be back on the field starting Thursday night.
After two days of marathon
negotiations - and mounting frustration among coaches, players and fans -
the NFL and the referees' union announced at midnight Thursday that a
tentative agreement had been reached to end a lockout that began in
June.
Commissioner Roger Goodell, who
was at the bargaining table Tuesday and Wednesday, said the regular
officials would work the Browns-Ravens game at Baltimore.
"Welcome back REFS," Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller tweeted shortly after the news broke.
The replacements worked the
first three weeks of games, triggering a wave of outrage that threatened
to disrupt the rest of the season. After a missed call cost the Green
Bay Packers a win on a chaotic final play at Seattle on Monday night,
the two sides really got serious.
"We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games," referees' union president Scott Green said.
The tentative eight-year deal is
the longest involving on-field officials in NHL history and was reached
with the assistance of two federal mediators. It must be ratified by 51
percent of the union's 121 members, who plan to vote Friday and
Saturday in Dallas.
The agreement hinged on working
out salary, pension and retirement benefits for the officials, who are
part-time employees of the league. Tentatively, it calls for their
salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to
$173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019.
Under the proposal, the current
defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials
through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years' service.
The defined benefit plan will then be frozen.
Retirement benefits will be
provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in 2017, through
a defined contribution arrangement. The annual league contribution made
on behalf of each game official will begin with an average of more than
$18,000 per official and increase to more than $23,000 per official in
2019.
Beginning with the 2013 season,
the NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials on a
full-time basis to work year round, including on the field. The NFL
also will be able to retain additional officials for training and
development, and can assign those officials to work games. The number of
additional officials will be determined by the league.
"As you know, this has to be
ratified and we know very little about it, but we're excited to be back.
And ready," referee Ed Hochuli told The Associated Press in a telephone
interview. "And I think that's the most important message - that we're
ready."
Replacement refs aren't new to
the NFL. They worked the first week of games in 2001 before a deal was
reached. But those officials came from the highest level of college
football; the current replacements do not. Their ability to call
fast-moving NFL games drew mounting criticism through Week 3, climaxing
last weekend, when ESPN analyst Jon Gruden called their work "tragic and
comical."
Those comments came during
"Monday Night Football," with Seattle beating Green Bay 14-12 on a
desperation pass into the end zone on the final play. Packers safety
M.D. Jennings had both hands on the ball in the end zone, and when he
fell to the ground in a scrum, both Jennings and Seahawks receiver
Golden Tate had their arms on the ball.
The closest official to the
play, at the back of the end zone, signaled for the clock to stop, while
another official at the sideline ran in and then signaled touchdown.
The NFL said in a statement
Tuesday that the touchdown pass should not have been overturned - but
acknowledged Tate should have been called for offensive pass
interference before the catch. The league also said there was no
indisputable evidence to reverse the call made on the field.
That drew even louder howls of
disbelief. Some coaches, including Miami's Joe Philbin and Cincinnati's
Marvin Lewis, tried to restore some calm by instructing players not to
speak publicly on the issue.
Fines against two coaches for incidents involving the replacements were handed out Wednesday.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick
was docked $50,000 for trying to grab an official's arm Sunday to ask
for an explanation of a call after his team lost at Baltimore. And
Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was tagged for $25,000
for what the league called "abuse of officials" in the Redskins' loss to
Cincinnati on Sunday. Two other coaches, Denver's John Fox and
assistant Jack Del Rio, were fined Monday for incidents involving the
replacements the previous week.
"I accept the discipline and I apologize for the incident," Belichick said.
Players were in no mood for apologies from anyone.
"I'll probably get in trouble
for this, but you have to have competent people," Carolina receiver
Steve Smith said. "And if you're incompetent, get them out of there."
Added Rams quarterback Sam
Bradford: "I just don't think it's fair to the fans, I don't think it's
fair to us as players to go out there and have to deal with that week in
and week out. I really hope that they're as close as they say they
are."
They were.
___
AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds in Miami, Steve Reed in Charlotte, and R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis contributed to this story.
___
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2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
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