Aaron Rodgers never shies away from telling what is on his mind, and he did exactly that when discussing NFL referees, who are currently facing substantial criticism. He even vouched for the league to compensate them.
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In his latest appearance at the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the Jets’ QB was vocal about how he believes that paying the refs more would result in better officiating. Notably, the referees have come under fire in recent weeks for questionable calls. This has ignited a debate in the NFL world.
Aaron Rodgers Feels Paying the Refs More Would Incentivize Them
There have been some howlers on the part of referees and officiating has been nothing short of atrocious. Many players and team owners have been vocal about the decisions of refs in recent weeks. However, it appears that Rodgers has a soft spot for them, despite the huge backlash.
Aaron Rodgers was back on the Pat McAfee Show where they discussed several league-related matters. McAfee, who recently tweeted about questionable referee decisions in the Colts‘ game, brought up bad calls from referees in recent weeks. He said that the refs need to judge the intent while making calls. He also jokingly added that the league needs Gene Steratore to work every football game and review the calls, in case of any questionable decisions.
While agreeing with McAfee, Rodgers said, “We need Gene and he should be paid $25,000,000 from all the networks and sports leagues. Let’s get him a great set-up with like 80 different monitors. We need a network like FOX that can handle and take all the shots going on in the games and get him involved in every single play. All the great refs are working and recently retired ones are not working for the league, they are working for the TV deals because that’s where the money is at.“
We NEED @GeneSteratore to work EVERY football game.
“Gene is one of my all-time favourites and all the great referees are working for TV not the league” ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/dTSmks24xn
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 24, 2023
He says hiring the refs full-time increases the pay because they are an important part of this billion-dollar industry. Those men and women deserve more money because that’s a tough gig. He also feels that they should be held accountable for bad calls.
NFL Admits That Ref Didn’t Make the Right Call in the Colt’s Loss
Colts owner Jim Irsay recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to share an update on the team QB, Anthony Richardson. He recently went under the knife, and according to the team owner, “Anthony Richardson’s surgery today in LA was a success!” He further revealed in the tweet that the NFL has admitted fault in the Colts’ matchup against the Browns.
“The NFL admits and understands that they did not make the correct calls at the end of Sunday’s Colts/Browns Game. I believe we need to institute Instant Replay for all calls, including Penalties, in the last two minutes of All Games,” Irsay said.
URGENT NFL/COLTS NEWS:
🏈 #5 QB Anthony Richardson’s surgery today in LA was a success! It was a long procedure and his shoulder injury has been repaired. No new surprises were found during surgery – they just repaired what was expected. Anthony is doing well and thanks everyone…— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 25, 2023
The refs made 2 questionable calls, ultimately costing the Dolts the game in a close encounter. A late flag for the illegal contact and one for the pass interference. The fans aren’t happy, and the backlash has been tremendous. In spite of the criticism from all the corners, A-Rod insists that refs are human and the league should pay them more. Whether the NFL takes this issue seriously is yet to be seen.
