The NFL competition committee is exploring ways to prevent missed calls on the field, and one of those ideas involves the introduction of a “sky judge.”
The sky judge, currently used in the Canadian Football League, is an extra official who sits in the press box and assists the on-field crew with calls. League executive vice president Troy Vincent admitted Friday that a similar role was under consideration by the league.
“Is it time? Tell us, moving forward in the future of professional football, do we need to be looking at the mechanics?” Vincent said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “Are the [officials] in the right place? Do we need a sky judge? Do we need an eighth official, a ninth official? Does New York need to be more involved?”
The league would face three issues in introducing a sky judge. They would have to figure out whether they are on duty for the entire game or just important parts, as well as what calls they’d be able to influence and whether there are enough qualified candidates to hire for the role. 24 of the league’s 32 owners would also have to approve the addition.
The sky judge idea is just one that the NFL is looking into. Making certain penalty calls reviewable is another, and the competition committee is exploring all of its options.
