On Tuesday, January 17th, Aaron Rodgers joined the Pat McAfee Show to talk about a multitude of topics. The conversations ranged from his health, the conversations between Rodgers and the Packers front office, and the state of NFL officiating. Rodgers explained on the show what exactly happens to the best officials, and where they eventually get hired.
Aaron Rodgers was originally answering a question regarding comments from Joey Bosa and Micah Parsons. Each player was critical of the officiating in their respective games and asked for more accountability. Rodgers began by giving some ground to the referees for calls like offensive holding and pass interference, where a flag could be thrown nearly every play.
The particular aspect of officiating both McAfee and Rodgers could agree needed help involved roughing the passer. The play that was brought on camera was a penalty called against Dexter Lawrence against the Vikings. Lawrence wrapped himself around Kirk Cousins and then let go of him before they hit the ground. The forearm of Lawrence did contact the helmet of Cousins, however, which influenced the penalty being called.
Rodgers then transitioned and stated, “It’s hard because what do you do, go back and review those?” The point that Rodgers makes about reviewing the plays is that more plays can be reviewed, but it doesn’t mean they all should. The quarterback then pivoted to explain why there have been more officiating mistakes.
“The best [referees] that we have had in the league are on TV now. They are not working in the league office, they are on TV.
As Rodgers stated, the best referees in the league go on to become NFL rules analysts. The examples said on the show included Gene Steratore, Terry McAulay, and Mike Pereira, who are all former head officials turned analysts. Rodgers gives credit to Steratore the most for “…knowing how to communicate with the players” along with managing the flow of each game.
The explanation that Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers gave as to why this is was rather simple. The money is much better for a referee to join a television cast as the rules expert. The NFL league office is where the discussions about what rules should or need to be fixed take place. However, the officials choose to become analysts instead of assisting the league due to their increased pay.
Rules analysts are a rather unique job, with very limited opportunities. However, each cast is beginning to bring on its own analyst and the need for the position is growing. After years of running up and down the field and traveling non-stop, many referees feel more comfortable communicating the rules. In the minds of Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers, the NFL would have to pay more to acquire the referees needed for proper penalty enforcement.
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