NFL fans love the game, love their teams, love their players. The Refs? Not so much. In fact, fans have become so upset with error-prone officiating that “Boycott Super Bowl” has become one of the biggest trends on social media lately. So much so, that some fans have even called for referees’ heads, holding them accountable for what they see as undue advantage given to some teams as a result of their goof-ups.
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But just because some fans are upset with the officiating doesn’t mean that the NFL goes around firing referees. For starters, NFL refs are typically signed on a 12-month contract. If they do well in the regular season, they get the opportunity to work on the postseason games.
The only way the @NFL @nfloff and @nflcommish will notice we have had enough of the rigging is to hit them where it hurts. #boycottsuperbowl pic.twitter.com/u6xPTsmQqc
— Bills Mafia Rochester (@BillsMafiaRoc) January 29, 2025
The decision to renew, demote, or discontinue a referee’s contract happens after the season ends. And due to the short tenure of the contract, sackings are usually rare in the NFL. But there is one man who holds the dubious distinction of becoming the first NFL official to lose his job midseason in the Super Bowl era.
Back in 2018, referee Hugo Cruz faced intense flak for failing to penalize LA offensive tackle Russell Okung after he committed a false start by dropping back for a block before the snap. This was a blatant flag that the referee somehow failed to spot. The miss proved costly as the Chargers went on to score a touchdown.
LA fans went ballistic. After the matchup, Cruz was relieved of his duties by the league.
It became a huge issue. The NFL Referees Association believed the harsh action on Cruz was a “reckless decision” by the league and slammed the NFL for its “knee-jerk” decision aimed at soothing fan anger.
“The NFL has a troubling history of knee-jerk reactions with an eye on public relations, and clearly it has not learned from past mistakes. The NFLRA will protect the collectively bargained rights of all officials and will challenge this reckless decision through the Grievance process.”
Interestingly though, a report by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert later claimed that the league didn’t let Cruz go just for missing the blatant false start in the Chargers game. In reality, the NFL wasn’t happy with Cruz’s officiating for a while.
At that point, Cruz had been officiating for four seasons. As per the league, Cruz hadn’t maintained “a very high level of performance over a sustained period” and was thus let go.
While it is rare to see an official getting fired, there have been some rumors circulating on social media that the league has suspended seven referees from the AFC Championship game in which the Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-29.
Luckily for the refs concerned, that’s what they are — just rumors.
