2022 Preseason
Carl Cheffers will officiate 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game
Carl Cheffers will be the referee for the first game of the 2022 NFL season, in Canton, Ohio.
The NFL’s 103rd season begins Thursday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Football Zebras has confirmed that Carl Cheffers, who is beginning his 23rd season and 15th as referee, will don the white hat in the first preseason game of 2022 between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders. He will lead a mixed crew for the game. The Thursday night game will be aired on NBC beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The mixed crew for this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Game will feature the longest-tenured official at each position, with a combined 181 seasons of NFL experience among the seven men.
This is Cheffers’ second Pro Football Hall of Fame Game assignment; he was the referee for the 2015 edition between the Steelers and Vikings. This is the first game that brothers Carl and Perry Paganelli will be officiating together since Super Bowl XLI.
| Yrs | 2022 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 51 | Carl Cheffers | 23 | California-Irvine | sales manager | |
| U | 124 | Carl Paganelli | 23 | Rogers | Michigan State | retired federal probation officer |
| DJ | 28 | Mark Hittner | 26 | Smith | Pittsburg State | investment broker |
| LJ | 32 | Jeff Bergman | 30 | Kemp | Robert Morris | president and chief executive officer, medical services |
| FJ | 15 | Rick Patterson | 27 | Allen | Wofford | banker |
| SJ | 41 | Boris Cheek | 27 | Allen | Morgan State | retired director of operations and management |
| BJ | 46 | Perry Paganelli | 25 | Blakeman | Hope College | retired high school administrator |
