Sundays in the glare of television lights and the punishing sun, six free days a week to ponder your life choices, and all the hatred that a stadium and millions of home viewers can send your way.

What's not to like about the choice to become an NFL referee? NFL referees must pay obsessively detailed attention to a game happening live in front of them, get out of the way of the players while still being nimble and fast enough to keep the action in your line of sight, and withstand the pressure to change calls from crowds, teams and coaches.

Being an NFL referee is high-pressure, high-status and high-paid. Since the season itself is only 17 weeks long, that's pretty great pay, and they're still free to take another job in the offseason, including working at practice camps.

Most NFL refs are part-time employees, and many have full-time nonfootball jobs even during football season. This career ladder is an old-fashioned one: You start local and work your way up.

Get a snapshot of the current NFL game stats, updated weekly during the regular season. The following is the complete NFL roster of officials , which could change during the season due to injury, schedule conflicts, etc.

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League Governance Ensuring a consistent and fair game that is decided on the field, by the players. Social Justice. Those who aspire to referee NFL games will have to face intense competition as there will be very fewer openings each year.

In a professional football match, a seven-official system is followed, wherein seven officials operate in the same field. Based on the positions and duties assigned, each of the officials is delegated with a different title: referee or head referee , umpire, head linesman, line judge, field judge, side judge, and back judge.

Recently, the National Football League has hired its first female referee, Sarah Thomas, year-old Mississippi native.

The main responsibility of the referee is to strictly watch and supervise the game. He has the authority to announce penalties and other unusual rulings.

It is a reputable post that contributes a lot in deciding the fate of a football game. And in the profession of football refereeing, an NFL referee is considered the highest position.

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Special teams: Watches for offside and encroachment; rules on penalties involving blockers and defenders on trick plays. Lining up on the sideline opposite the down judge and looking directly down the line of scrimmage, the line judge has similar duties without the chain crew direction.

Below are the line judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays. Run plays: Watches for offside and encroachment; watches blockers and defenders on nearest side for penalties.

Pass plays: Watches for offside and encroachment on nearest side of field; follows nearest receiver for seven yards downfield; moves into offensive backfield to determine if pass is forwards or backwards; makes sure passer is behind the line of scrimmage when he throws the ball.

Special teams: Stays at line of scrimmage on punts to make sure only players on the ends of the line move downfield before the kick; rules on whether the kick crosses the line of scrimmage; watches kicking team for penalties.

Below are the field judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays. Pass plays: Watches widest receiver on nearest side of the field and makes sure he is able to run his route without interference; rules on whether a pass to nearest side of the field is incomplete; rules on whether a receiver is in or out of bounds when he makes a catch; watches for pass interference.

Special teams: Rules on blocking during punts; lines up under goal posts to rule on whether field goals and extra points are good.

Most refs in fact do Test.Com quite lucrative day jobs. Below are the line judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays. The discrepancy is one of basic math. Below are the umpire's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special teams-plays. If you love the game, have a sharp eye and fast feet, an appetite for competition and a solid well-paying job that can spare you for 17 weeks at a time, a job as an NFL referee could be in your future. It's a part-time job with a take-home component and endless homework. New rules are added each year. Steve Zimmer. New York Giants. With that precision, officials deserve high-paying salaries. Josh Allen's big game shows growth, fills Bills with confidence. The Extra Point Welcome to the Extra Point, where members of the NFL's football data and analytics team will share updates Valrhona Trinkschokolade league-wide trends in football data, interesting visualizations that showcase innovative ways to use Monopoly™ Gold Card league's data, and provide an inside look at how the Nfl Referee Salary uses data-driven insight Vfl W improve and monitor player and team performance. Officiating an NFL game takes years of training and experience.