The National Football League and the NFL Referees Association have reached a new collective bargaining agreement designed to enhance officiating quality through increased competition and training.

美國國家美式足球聯盟（NFL）與 NFL 裁判協會已達成一份新的集體協商協議，旨在透過增加競爭與培訓來提升裁判品質。

The centerpiece of the agreement is the establishment of a practice squad comprising up to 12 officials. These individuals will be embedded within specific crews to provide immediate redundancy in the event of injury or suboptimal performance. A subset of this group will consist of collegiate officials who will transition to the professional level following their respective college seasons. This structural shift is intended to introduce a meritocratic pressure, which Ramon George, VP of officiating training and development, suggests will foster competition across all tiers of the officiating hierarchy.

本協議的核心在於建立一個最多 12 名裁判的練習分隊。這些人員將被編入特定的裁判組，以便在發生受傷或表現不佳時提供立即的備援。該組別的一部分將由大學裁判組成，他們將在各自的大學賽季結束後轉向職業級別。此結構性轉變旨在引入一種績效導向的壓力，裁判培訓與發展副總裁 Ramon George 表示，這將促進裁判體系中所有層級的競爭。

Further institutional adjustments include the modification of the 'dark period'—the traditional offseason. The period of restricted league access to officials has been truncated, commencing May 1 rather than May 15. For officials categorized in the lowest performance tiers (Tier 3 and Tier 4), the offseason may be further reduced or eliminated to facilitate mandatory training. To support these initiatives, the league intends to double its staff of coach coordinators from eight to sixteen over the next two years. Additionally, the agreement removes the previous two-year experience requirement for postseason eligibility, allowing high-performing officials to be assigned to playoff games regardless of tenure.

進一步的制度調整包括修改「黑暗期」——即傳統的休賽季。聯盟限制接觸裁判的期間已縮短，從 5 月 1 日而非 5 月 15 日開始。對於被歸類為最低表現等級（第三級和第四級）的裁判，休賽季可能會被進一步縮減或取消，以利於進行強制性培訓。為了支持這些舉措，聯盟打算在未來兩年內將教練協調員的人數從 8 人增加到 16 人。此外，該協議取消了先前對季後賽資格要求的兩年經驗限制，允許表現優異的裁判無論資歷深淺，均可被指派參與季後賽。

Despite these provisions, internal skepticism persists. Some stakeholders argue that the expanded training and practice squad are superficial modifications of existing concepts. Concerns have been raised regarding the league's historical failure to implement similar training programs outlined in the 2019 CBA. Furthermore, critics suggest that the root cause of officiating inconsistency lies in contradictory feedback from the league office rather than a lack of training hours. There is also a noted risk that the increased pressure to perform may induce anxiety among officials, potentially compromising on-field efficacy.

儘管有這些規定，內部疑慮依然存在。部分利害關係人認為，擴大培訓和練習分隊僅是對現有概念的表面修改。針對聯盟在執行 2019 年集體協商協議中概述的類似培訓計劃時歷史性的失敗，相關擔憂已被提出。此外，批評者認為裁判表現不一致的根源在於聯盟辦公室提供矛盾的反饋，而非缺乏培訓時數。同時，亦有人指出增加的表現壓力可能會導致裁判焦慮，進而可能損害場上的執行效能。

The new agreement implements a more rigorous, competition-based framework for officials, though its ultimate success depends on the league's ability to execute these training mandates.

新協議為裁判實施了一個更嚴格、基於競爭的框架，但其最終成功與否，取決於聯盟執行這些培訓指令的能力。