NFL Referee Salary: How Much Do NFL Refs Make In A Single Season?
by Vishwesh Rajan P | Updated Mar 04, 2021

NFL Referee Salary
The NFL is the most-watched spectator sport in America, so it is only natural that people are curious about every aspect of the game, including the salary of Super Bowl officials. But this piece of information is particularly hard to get. The primary reason for this is that the NFL does not release public information on officiating salaries. Moreover, the salary of officials varies according to the amount of experience they have in the field. So it is difficult to arrive at an exact figure. But we can arrive at a ballpark figure based on certain info, Read on to know more about NFL Referee Salary
How Much Does an NFL Referee Make in a Year?
According to an article in Money.com, the average NFL salary was $173,000 in 2013, and it was expected to be at $201,000 by 2019. One should keep in mind that NFL referees are not full-time employees. Referees are employed only during the regular season and the Super Bowl. Many referees have even admitted that refereeing is not their only job. These figures are just an estimate since the NFL does not release any info on their salaries. These figures were arrived at by comparing referee bonuses to player bonuses. Based on this date, it is estimated that referees are likely to earn anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 for working in the Super Bowl.
Who is the Highest Paid NFL Referee?
Since data is very scarce on the salary of NFL referees. It is very hard to single out someone as the highest-paid NFL Referee. It is expected that referees with more experience will be drawing a larger salary when compared to their counterparts. Listed below are all the officials selected for SuperBowl 55. So this year they are expected to be some of the highest-paid officials.
Position | Official | NFL experience | Super Bowls |
Referee | Carl Cheffers | 21 years | SB 51 |
Umpire | Fred Bryan | 12 years | SB 53 |
Line judge | Rusty Baynes | 11 years | SB 50 |
Side judge | Eugene Hall | 7 years | SB 53 |
Back judge | Dino Paganelli | 15 years | SB 47 |
Field judge | James Coleman | 16 years | None |
Down judge | Sarah Thomas | 6 years | None |
Replay official | Mike Wimmer | 7 years | None |
What is the Average Salary of an NFL Referee?
According to Money.com the average salary of an NFL referee was $173,000 in 2013. It was then estimated to be around $201,000. Right now the league is under a defined-contribution where the average sits at $401,000. If you feel this is too much or they are being over-paid. You should remember that refereeing is not a full-time job. Plus this deal only costs the NFL roughly about $3.2 million, which is minuscule when compared to the billions that the league has.
NFL Referee Salary - FAQs
According to Money.com the average salary of an NFL referee was $173,000 in 2013. It was then estimated to be around $201,000. Right now the league is under a defined-contribution where the average sits at $401,000
Listed below are all the officials selected for SuperBowl 55. So this year they are expected to be some of the highest-paid officials.
Position | Official | NFL experience | Super Bowls |
Referee | Carl Cheffers | 21 years | SB 51 |
Umpire | Fred Bryan | 12 years | SB 53 |
Line judge | Rusty Baynes | 11 years | SB 50 |
Side judge | Eugene Hall | 7 years | SB 53 |
Back judge | Dino Paganelli | 15 years | SB 47 |
Field judge | James Coleman | 16 years | None |
Down judge | Sarah Thomas | 6 years | None |
Replay official | Mike Wimmer | 7 years | None |
National Football League is America's professional football league consisting of 32 teams.
It is estimated that referees are likely to earn anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 for working in the Super Bowl.
The NFL was started on 20 August 1920.