how much do referees make in the nfl

NFL referees now earn an estimated average of about 205,000 dollars per season in 2026, with extra pay for playoff and Super Bowl games.

Quick Scoop: How much do referees make in the NFL?

Core numbers (2026)

• Average NFL referee salary: around 205,000 dollars per year.

• Rough per‑game pay in the regular season: about 11,000–12,000 dollars if they work every week.

• Playoff game fee (estimate): about 3,000–5,000 dollars per postseason game.

• Super Bowl head referee bonus: about 30,000–50,000 dollars for that one game.

Even though many NFL refs still have “normal” jobs in the offseason, their on‑field pay is high enough that people often argue they should be full‑time, year‑round employees of the league.

Regular season vs playoffs vs Super Bowl

• Regular season
  • Paid a base seasonal amount plus game checks, averaging roughly 11,000–12,000 dollars per regular‑season game for refs who work every week.

• Playoffs
  • Not every official gets playoff assignments; those are based heavily on performance grades during the season.

* Officials who do make the postseason add a few thousand dollars per game (around 3,000–5,000 dollars) on top of their regular salary.

• Super Bowl
  • The Super Bowl crew is selected from the highest‑graded officials that season.

* The referee (the white‑hat lead official) is believed to receive a one‑off bonus in the 30,000–50,000 dollar range just for that game.

What about the highest‑paid refs?

• Reports around 2024–2025 suggest the very top referees can reach or exceed roughly 250,000 dollars a year.

• Names like Brad Allen and Craig Wrolstad have been mentioned among the highest earners in recent seasons.

Why so much?

• The NFL generates many billions in revenue, so paying six‑figure salaries for the people enforcing rules in front of tens of millions of viewers is seen as protecting the product.

• Officials work a full season of games plus film study, rules meetings, travel, and constant performance evaluation, and any mistake becomes national discussion within minutes.

Forum / “latest news” flavor

On recent sports sites and fan forums, people keep circling back to the same talking points:

“Refs are part‑time but making around 200K+ a year – just make them full‑time and train them like crazy.”

“For the money they’re getting, there’s no excuse for some of these blown calls in the playoffs.”

At the same time, others point out how fast the game is, how complex the rulebook has become, and how the league’s own emphasis on safety and replay puts refs under a bigger microscope than ever.

Bottom line / TL;DR:
If you’re wondering how much do referees make in the NFL right now, think roughly 205,000 dollars per year on average , with a nice bump from playoff games and a huge bonus if you ever get to wear the white hat in the Super Bowl.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.