Assignments
Bill Vinovich is the referee for Super Bowl LVIII
Vinovich earns 3rd Super Bowl assignment, Perlman and Hill will retire on top
Football Zebras has confirmed that Bill Vinovich will be the referee for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
Vinovich, 62, is currently in his 18th season and 15th as referee. Super Bowl LVIII will be Vinovich’s 19th postseason assignment, including 3 Wild Card Playoffs, 7 Divisional Playoffs, and 6 Conference Championships. This will also be Vinovich’s third Super Bowl assignment. Vinovich was the referee for Super Bowl XLIX following the 2014 season and Super Bowl LIV between the Chiefs and 49ers following the 2019 season. Vinovich was the referee for the Buccaneers-Lions Divisional Playoff last Sunday.
UPDATE: This will be the first time there is a rematch of Super Bowl participants with a referee that officiated another Super Bowl between those two teams.
Vinovich is a certified public accountant from Lake Forest, Calif. Vinovich also served as a supervisor of NFL officials for 5 seasons; a position he held while sidelined from on-field officiating due to a near-fatal heart condition.
A referee must have at least 5 years of seniority, worked 3 years at the referee position, and worked a playoff game as a referee in a previous postseason. The other members of the Super Bowl crew must have a Conference Championship game on their résumé (or received on-field assignments in 3 of the last 5 postseasons) in addition to being at least a 5-year veteran.
Umpire Terry Killens and down judge Patrick Holt will be officiating the Super Bowl in their first year of eligibility. To work a Super Bowl, an official must have at least 5 years of service, and Killens and Holt are each in their 5th season. This is the first time since Super Bowl XXXIX where two 5th-year officials were assigned to the Super Bowl, when Carl Paganelli and Tony Steratore matched that feat.
Killens is the first person to play in and officiate a Super Bowl as a linebacker for the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. He had one tackle on special teams. Two other officials played a pre-Super Bowl championship game and officiated a Super Bowl: umpire Ron Botchan had 6 championship rings, 5 from officiating Super Bowls and one as a linebacker for the 1961 AFL Champion Houston Oilers; and umpire George Young 6 as well, as a defensive end for the A.A.F.C. and NFL Cleveland Browns and officiating Super Bowl I. (Second-year umpire Mike Morton is the only official to have a Super Bowl ring as a player; he is not eligible to officiate a Super Bowl yet.)
Line judge Mark Perlman and field judge Tom Hill will be working their final games on the league’s biggest stage, as they have already planned to retire at the conclusion of this season. This is the second time in Super Bowl history that multiple officials will be retiring following an on-field Super Bowl assignment — field judge Scott Steenson and side judge Dave Wyant retired after working Super Bowl XLVIII a decade ago.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | Prev. Postseason | Prev. SB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 52 | Bill Vinovich | 18 | San Diego | certified public accountant | 3 WC, 7 DIV, 6 CC | XLIX, LIV | |
| U | 77 | Terry Killens | 5 | Hochuli | Penn State | campus security specialist FORMER NFL PLAYER | 1 WC, 3 DIV | |
| DJ | 106 | Patrick Holt | 5 | Hochuli | North Carolina State | IT manager | 3 WC, 1 DIV | |
| LJ | 9 | Mark Perlman | 23 | Vinovich | Salem | teacher | 7 WC, 12 DIV, 4 CC | XL, XLIII, XLIX |
| FJ | 97 | Tom Hill | 25 | Blake | Carson Newman | retired teacher/coach | 9 WC, 4 DIV, 10 CC | XL, XLIX, LII |
| SJ | 56 | Allen Baynes | 16 | Hussey | Auburn | realtor | 5 WC, 5 DIV, 4 CC | |
| BJ | 88 | Brad Freeman | 10 | Clark | Mississippi State | sports park director | 5 WC, 4 DIV, 2 CC | |
| RO | Mike Chase | 7 | Kemp | Arizona State | senior portfolio manager | 3 WC, 3 DIV | LIV | |
| RA | Jack Persampire | — | Football Ops | SUNY-Cortland | NFL coordinator of football analytics | 0 | ||
| ALT | R | Shawn Smith | 9 | Ferris State | finance | 5 WC, 1 DIV, 2 CC | ||
| ALT | U | Barry Anderson | 17 | Torbert | North Carolina State | builder/developer | 5 WC, 5 DIV, 2 CC | LIV |
| ALT | DJ | Dana McKenzie | 16 | Blakeman | Toledo | claims adjuster | 5 WC, 3 DIV, 4 CC | XLIX |
| ALT | LJ | Tim Podraza | 16 | Hochuli | Nebraska | business performance consultant | 7 WC, 3 DIV, 2 CC | |
| ALT | FJ | Nate Jones | 5 | Cheffers | Rutgers | firefighter/EMT FORMER NFL PLAYER | 2 WC, 2 DIV, 1 CC | |
| ALT | SJ | Anthony Jeffries | 6 | Rogers | Alabama-Birmingham | medical sales | 1 WC, 3 DIV, 1 CC | |
| ALT | BJ | Greg Wilson | 16 | Martin | USC | retired police officer | 8 WC, 2 DIV, 1 CC | |
| ALT | RO | Tyler Cerimeli | 5 | Hochuli | Arizona State | high school officials coordinator | 1 WC, 3 DIV |
Image: Designed by Ben Austro; Patrick McDermott/Getty Images / © K.C. Alfred/ZUMA Press Wire
