How to Be an NFL Official

Refereeing junior football games gives you valuable experience.

Working as a professional official for the National Football League is a reputable job that allows you to interact with athletes and work at big games. Whether you are looking for a career as judge, umpire or referee, getting to work in the NFL is a privilege that can be challenging to obtain due to fierce competition. Becoming an NFL official can take time and is a career that you can work towards, even if you don't get accepted by the NFL on your first try.

Instructions

1. Get as much experience as you can working as a referee, or other official, for football. According to the official NFL website, you need a minimum of 10 years of experience officiating football games in order to qualify as an official in the NFL. Additionally, at least five of those 10 years must have been for a varsity college level or a minor professional level.

2. Keep your physique in healthy condition and shape. NHL officials are required to be fit and athletic. There are no weight requirements for NHL officials, but the NHL does want officials to be able to keep up with the activity level required in games.

3. Obtain experience in the actual sport of football. Besides officiating games, it is necessary for you to have experience as a football player and/or a football coach, in order to increase your chances of getting accepted by the NHL.

4. Sign up to belong to a football accredited officiating association or commission. Belonging to an association shows your pledge to the ethical codes of conduct for game officials and your interest and commitment to the position.

5. Provide the NFL with a resume or schedule of all of the games that you officiated for at collegiate and/or minor professional level for the past three seasons, as well as the location of the games, the schools that played, and all of the positions that you worked within football games as an official. Provide other information that you believe is pertinent to the job as well, such as if you attended any special training camps for game officials.

Tips & Warnings

• After submitting your resume to the NFL, wait for two to four weeks before following up on the status of your application. Due to the high volume of applications that the NFL receives, it is common for applications to become back logged.

References

• NFL Enterprises LLC; Frequently Asked Questions; 2011