Barb Caffrey's Blog

It’s Week Four in the NFL, folks.  And up until now, we’ve dealt with replacement referees who didn’t seem to know what they were doing at best — and definitely didn’t know what they were doing at worst.

But now, a deal has been reached by the NFL and the NFL Referees’ Association; that means the real, professional referees will be back on the field soon.  Perhaps even as soon as Thursday night’s contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns.

Here’s a bit of the NFL and the NFLRA’s joint statement, courtesy of Yahoo Sports (short links aren’t working, so here’s the long link — http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/several-reports-indicate-deal-between-nfl-officials-imminent-023915580–nfl.html):

The NFL and NFLRA are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement tonight on an eight-year collective bargaining agreement, subject to ratification by the NFLRA.

“Our officials will be back on the field starting tomorrow night,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We appreciate the commitment of the NFLRA in working through the issues to reach this important agreement.”

“Our Board of Directors has unanimously approved taking this proposed CBA to the membership for a ratification vote,” said Scott Green, president of the NFLRA. “We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week’s games.”

Hallelujah!  (And amen!)