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6 NFL officials with 146 years of combined experience are retiring this season
At least 6 officials are retiring at the end of this season.
At the conclusion of the 2022 NFL season, 6 respected veteran officials will be hanging up their whistle. Among these officials includes line judge Jeff Bergman, who is only the 8th official in league history to officiate for 30 or more seasons.
Bergman, 68, is the son of the late head linesman Jerry Bergman, Sr., who himself is also a member of the revered 30 Club. To commemorate Jeff’s career, and to honor the passion for officiating in the Bergman family, Bergman will officiate his final regular season game this weekend across the line of scrimmage from his brother, down judge Jerry Bergman, Jr., in the Saints-Panthers game.
In his first 29 seasons as a line-of-scrimmage official, Bergman has officiated 22 postseason games, including 8 Wild Card Playoffs, 9 Divisional Playoffs, 3 Conference Championships, and Super Bowls XXXI and LIII. Sunday’s game will be his 432nd regular season game. As originally reported by Referee in November 2020, Bergman notified the NFL on August 31, 2020, of his intentions to hang up his stripes after 30 seasons.
| Yrs | 2022 crew | College | Positions | Postseason | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJ | 28 | Mark Hittner | 26 | Smith | Pittsburg State | HL/DJ 1997-2022 | 8 WC, 4 DIV, 9 CC, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XL |
| LJ | 32 | Jeff Bergman | 30 | Kemp | Robert Morris | LJ 1991-96, 1998-2015, ’18-19, ’21-22; HL/DJ 2016-17 | 8 WC, 9 DIV, 3 CC, XXXI, LIII |
| FJ | 72 | Michael Banks | 21 | Clark | Illinois State | SJ 2002-18, ’20; FJ 2019, ’21-22 | 4 WC, 5 DIV, XLIII, LIV |
| SJ | 21 | Jeff Lamberth | 21 | Wrolstad | Texas A&M | FJ 2002, ’13, ’18, ’20; SJ 2003-12, ’14-17, ’19, ’21 | 3 WC, 2 DIV, 1 CC |
| BJ | 61 | Keith Ferguson | 23 | Hill | San Jose State | BJ 2000-2022 | 4 WC, 5 DIV, 3 CC, XLIII, 50 |
| BJ | 46 | Perry Paganelli | 25 | Blakeman | Hope College | BJ 1998-2022 | 7 WC, 8 DIV, 6 CC, XLI, LII |
Making their final call
These are the rest of the officials who filed for retirement entering the 2022 season. There could be additional retirements that take effect in the coming offseason as officials take stock at the completion of another year. There are also some that may be “volun-told” to retire, gently urged to leave the field so the league can manage attrition.
Michael Banks, field judge
Banks is assigned to the Buccaneers-Falcons game, which will be his 310th regular season game.
Keith Ferguson, back judge
Ferguson is assigned to the Cardinals-49ers game, will be his 349th regular season game.
Mark Hittner, down judge
Hittner is off this week. We will likely see him again before retirement, as he currently is tied for the most on-field postseason assignments among active officials with 24. He finishes his career with 393 regular season games.
Jeff Lamberth, side judge
Lamberth is assigned to the Rams-Seahawks game, the 287th regular season game of his career.
Perry Paganelli, back judge
Perry Paganelli is assigned to the Browns-Steelers game, his 378th regular season game.
