How does the NFL assign mixed crews for the playoffs?

The process of assigning playoff officials has been largely a secret, with some of the details not even shared with officials. However, there is a general framework that has been established by the league and the officials’ union. 

[Editor’s note: Any information contained here about eligibility is accurate for the 2024-25 postseason.]

As far as we know, the league will continue to use a tier system in order to assign officials for postseason games. The number of tiers has varied in recent years, but the basis of the tiers remains the same: championship level officials, playoff qualified officials, and not playoff qualified.

There are no all-star crews in the first two rounds of the playoffs; mixed crews is a more accurate term. The crews are assigned by individual merit, rather than a crew score, to prevent lower-graded officials from getting unearned assignments or negatively impacting their crewmates. This provision is included in the collective bargaining agreement with the officials union signed in 2012, and was kept in the 2019 collective bargaining agreement.

As Tier 1 officials are assigned to the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl, those crews can be more accurately referred to as all-star crews.

Playoff assignment procedure

First, in order to qualify for any postseason assignment, an official must not be in their first season or their first season as referee. There are 6 first-year officials who are ineligible for the postseason: an umpire, a down judge, 3 line judges, and a field judge. Additionally, there is one official who missed nearly all of his rookie season in 2023 due to injury, who is believed to be ineligible.

This season there are 7 second-year officials, as well as second-year referee Alan Eck (his 9th season), who are now playoff eligible.

Once playoff eligibility is addressed, there are additional criteria that must be met for the top games.

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl assignments are selected from the Tier 1 officials — not necessarily the #1 ranked official at each position — but these minimum qualifications apply:

For all non-referees who meet the five-year tenure requirement, but have not worked a Conference Championship game, three playoff-qualifying seasons in the previous five years will count as qualified for the Super Bowl. Alternate assignments and injured officials who qualified but were unable to officiate due to their injury are counted in the 3-of-5 requirement.

Five officials gained Super Bowl eligibility by working their first Conference Championship game last season; two of those officials, back judge Grantis Bell and field judge Anthony Flemming are in their fifth season. (The others are side judges Chad Hill, Nate Jones, and Anthony Jeffries.)

Three additional officials are now eligible having worked 3 playoff games in 5 years, and two more officials have that 3-of-5 requirement with the help of an alternate assignment.

Referee Brad Rogers is qualified to work a Super Bowl for the first time this season, having picked up the requisite playoff game as a crew chief last season.

Conference Championships

The remaining Tier 1 officials are distributed to the Conference Championship round and, if necessary, to the Divisional Playoffs. Conference Championship officials, including the referee, must have at least 3 years of experience and a prior playoff assignment. 

This year, 10 officials became eligible for a Conference Championship game, having worked their first playoff game last season. All but one of those officials are in their third season, meaning there’s a good chance there will be officials working that level in the first year possible.

Divisional and Wild Card Playoffs

For the remaining playoff games, the eventual Super Bowl crew will get Divisional Playoff assignments, although they won’t all be on the same crew. The remaining three positions for the Divisional Playoffs will go first to any remaining Tier 1 officials. Officials in playoff-qualified tiers will fill in the remaining Divisional Playoffs and then the Wild Card Playoffs.

Typically, a backup Super Bowl official at each position is selected in the event of an injury or major controversy in the Divisional Round. The names of those backups are not released, but there were two instances where it became known that a backup official was assigned to the Super Bowl.

Alternate officials and low graded officials

Alternate officials are generally considered to be in a playoff-qualified tier, but this has been a matter of debate in the officiating community. Depending on how the officiating department applies its tier system, alternates could be an overflow of officials that might have earned an on-field assignment plus a lower tier of alternate-only eligibles. Also, due to the number of playoff assignments, some officials will work two games, with one or both being an alternate assignment. The officials that work the Super Bowl are the only officials that will have that second on-field assignment in the Divisional round, although there have been some isolated exceptions of non-Super Bowl officials getting two.

Lowest tier officials do not get a playoff assignment, and three years in this tier can cause an official to be dismissed.