Sunday ’s Broncos - Chargers game was a classic shootout between rivals , but unfortunately all most fans will remember is ref Ed Hochuli incorrectly calling a Jay Cutler bungle an uncompleted qualifying , thereby preventing the Chargers from seal a victory . If you ’ve watched any sports news , you know what happened next : Cutler fire a touchdown passport and completed a two - point conversion to hand the Chargers a red ink in a plot they should by all right have won .
Although Hochuli did n’t hesitate to accommodate he bollocks up the call , what was he call up ? Were his enormous biceps blockade his eye ? Are n’t these referee trained professionals ? Are they handsomely rewarded ? What do we really eff about the zebras , anyway ? We did some digging . Here ’s what we line up :
They seriously get paid.
An NFL referee can make anywhere from $ 25,000 to $ 70,000 a time of year , although since most of the game are on Sundays , they can also have other task during the calendar week . ( We ’ll get to those in a minute . ) That Johnny Cash issue forth with responsibilities , though . In addition to relaying the call to the teams and fans , a ref is also the crew chief , or drawing card , of the seven - man officiating squad that also includes an umpire , a field jurist , a back justice , a line judge , a side judge , and a head linesman .
Officials in other sports pull down more loot , but they have much more arduous docket …
" ¢ Baseball . grant to MLB.com , Major League Baseball umpire get around $ 120,000 when they start out in the big league , and fourth-year umps can earn upwards of $ 350,000 . Between spring preparation , a 162 - game agenda , and the postseason , being an MLB umpire is a job that takes up most of the year . They are , however , well cared - for while on the road . Each ump generate a $ 340 per diem to spread over hotel and food for thought , and when they take flight , it ’s always first social class . They also get four weeks of paid vacation during the even season . These guy rope hang onto their job , too ; on ordinary , there ’s only one opening for a unexampled adult - league ump each season .
" ¢ Basketball . NBA refs are likewise well compensated . They earn anywhere from $ 100,000 to $ 300,000 for an 82 - game season . There are some nice fringe benefit , too ; when referee Tim Donaghy admitted to helping gamblers prepare games , the NBA asked that he repay other benefits he ’d pulled in over the track of his 13 - year calling , including $ 750 worth of sneakers and $ 4500 Charles Frederick Worth of free tickets .
" ¢ Hockey . If you could skate and survive the episodic lockout , NHL referee is hardly a spoiled job . Refs make between $ 110,000 and $ 255,000 while linesmen earn from $ 72,000 to $ 162,000 . ( Plus , free trip to Columbus and Raleigh ! )
" ¢ Women ’s Basketball . Not all refs are rewarded this handsomely . As you might pretend , referee in less democratic sports command smaller salaries . allot to a 2007 article on sports site scout.com , WNBA refs bring in between $ 600 and $ 800 a game during the conference ’s 32 - game time of year . That ’s a level of just over $ 19,000 a twelvemonth for a pretty tight job . As the same clause notes , woman ’s hoops refs are better off officiate a major - conference college game at $ 1200 a pop than working a WNBA tilt .
NFL refs have day jobs.
Since NFL referee only operate one daytime each week , they can have " real" job to supplement what they earn on any give Sunday . Some of them actually have pretty interesting jobs .
" ¢Mike Carey , my personal best-loved referee , is an entrepreneur and inventor who holds eight patents for snow sports apparel . He founded and co - possess Seirus Innovation , a ski wearing apparel company .
" ¢Walt Coleman(pictured ) is infamous in Oakland for being the ref in the " Tuck Rule Game,“ but he ’s also a 5th - contemporaries dairy farmer who once make the lieu of president of the Arkansas Dairy Products Association .
" ¢Walter Andersonbecame an official in the conference in 1996 and got the promotion to peer review in 2003 . Prior to becoming a reviewer , he was better lie with as Dr. Walt Anderson , a dentist .
" ¢Tony Correnteis probably used to dealing with unruly crowds of guy rope from his day job as a high - school societal studies teacher .
" ¢ IfJeff Tripletteseems hard to frighten on the theatre , it ’s probably because he ’s see spoiled . He was an Army Reserve colonel during the Persian Gulf War , where he was awarded a bronze star .
" ¢Bill Leavyis similarly tough ; he spent 27 years as a police military officer and firefighter in San Jose .
" ¢Ron Winter ’s not just a ref , he ’s also an associate professor in Western Michigan University ’s phys . ed . department .
" ¢Gene Steratoremust fuck how he looks in stripes . In addition to being an NFL ref , he officiate NCAA hoops games and has draw March Madness assignments in previous season .
" ¢ And whenEd Hochuliisn’t working out or officiating a game , you might find him in a courtroom . He ’s a trial attorney in the Arizona firm Jones , Skelton , and Hochuli , which employs over 80 attorneys .
It’s a long climb to the top.
How does one become a referee ? Most of these guys have humble beginning as officials . Carey started officiate Pop Warner games in 1972 and gradually work his way up through the college social rank . finally , he became an NFL side judge in 1990 and received a promotion to NFL referee , the pinnacle of football game officiating , in 1995 . Hochuli started as a Pop Warner ref in the former 1970s ; he was a law school scholarly person who needed a little extra air hole cash . He then easy made his way up through high-pitched school , third-year college , and small league college ball before induce a Pac-10 gig . He eventually made it to the NFL in 1990 . It ’s a dull build , but if you stick it out long enough and have some natural talent , you’re able to be the one patting his head to indicate an ineligible receiver downfield .
Ethan Trex co - writesStraight Cash , Homey , the Internet ’s unchallenged top source for pic of people in Ryan Leaf jerseys .
