NFL Exec: It Takes Refs 4 Years 'to Become Truly Competent' Due to Complicated Rules

When you're an NFL referee, there may be no substitute for experience.

One NFL team executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando that an official needs multiple years under his or her belt before finding a comfort zone.

"It takes four years to become truly competent, based on the complicated nature of the rulebook and the way they keep tweaking replay," the executive said. "You put these fifth-year guys in there and you are rolling the dice."

Sando noted how the five referees from this weekend's Wild Card Round games have worked an average of 5.6 seasons in that role. In comparison, that number was 9.3 for referees in the 2012 Wild Card Round.

That provides some helpful context with criticism of the NFL's officiating hitting a fever pitch.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Jan. 13 that "multiple executives and coaches said the NFL needs to reevaluate how it chooses and trains its officiating staff for future seasons."

The story came shortly after the Seattle Seahawks' 19-16 overtime victory over the Los Angeles in Week 18, which featured multiple blown or missed calls.

Fans, coaches and players have complained about the refs since time immemorial, and it will continue forever. Even if human beings were replaced by robots that had a 100 percent accuracy rate, people would find a reason to argue why their favorite team was the victim of a vast refereeing conspiracy.

In the case of the NFL, finding solutions might be especially tricky when the learning curve for incoming officials is so steep.