Jerome Boger will head to New Orleans lead the officiating crew for Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3. We have confirmed the assignment that was first reported by us as rumor on Dec. 30. The entire officiating staff was told of the assignment today.
Boger’s assignment is not without controversy. He was the highest graded official according to league sources this season, despite prevalent opinions, including ours, that other officials seemed to have better seasons. Even if Boger is the highest graded official, he has not made playoff grade in three of six possible opportunities prior to this season. One of the prerequisites for the referee position is to have officiated a conference championship in a prior season at any position. Boger’s three career postseason games before this year were all divisional playoff games.
There is a provision that allows officials to work a Super Bowl without conference championship experience. An official who has worked three of the past five postseasons is also eligible, but that provision, according to the league two weeks ago, does not apply to the referee position — the head of the crew. Even if you extend the 3-of-5 provision to Boger, he still does not have enough playoff games to fill the requirement.
When we reported on the possibility of Boger getting the Super Bowl assignment, league spokesman Michael Signora said, “We look forward to having our best officials on the field throughout the playoffs.” In an e-mail to us, Signora listed the assignment criteria, and added “There is no change to the Super Bowl assignment system.”
We are seeking a comment from the league, as there actually has been a change to the Super Bowl assignment system.
Update: From Michael Signora, vice president of football communications:
The criteria for referees to be eligible for the Super Bowl is three years experience as a referee (and five years total) and playoff experience as a referee. That criteria has not changed since at least 2007.
We will announce the Super Bowl officiating crew during the week of the game, as we have done in years past.
We stand behind the original reporting that the conference championship requirement has been in effect. We have since corroborated our assessment with a former official.
| Yr. | Crew | Playoff assignments (years missed playoffs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 23 | Jerome Boger | 9 | 3 (3) | 3 divisional | |
| U | 76 | Darrell Jenkins | 11 | Morelli | 5 (4) | 2 wild card, 3 divisional |
| HL | 22 | Steve Stelljes | 11 | Anderson | 4 (5) | 1 wild card, 2 divisional, 1 conf. champ. |
| LJ | 18 | Byron Boston | 18 | Anderson | 15 (3) | 2 wild card, 5 divisional, 7 conf. champ., 1 Super Bowl |
| FJ | 4 | Craig Wrolstad | 10 | Hochuli | 6 (2) | 3 wild card, 2 divisional, 1 conf. champ. |
| SJ | 73 | Joe Larrew | 11 | Boger | 3 (6) | 1 wild card, 2 divisional |
| BJ | 105 | Dino Paganelli | 7 | Steratore | 4 (1) | 1 wild card, 2 divisional, 1 conf. champ. |
- Alternates: Bill Vinovich (referee), Bruce Stritesky (umpire), Tom Stephan (linesman), Scott Edwards (deep wing), Steve Freeman (back judge)
- Replay official: Bill Spyksma
- Video assistant: Terry Sullivan
- Supervisor: Gary Slaughter
- Observer: Carl Johnson
(A few notes: the number of years includes this season, but the playoff assignments do not include this year’s assignments — every official on the list worked a divisional playoff. Also keep in mind that an official cannot work a playoff game in his rookie year, so it is not counted as having missed the playoffs. Boger also was ineligible the first year he was at the referee position, and that is not counted, either.)
I think it should have been Gene Steratore. And I think it is an absolute farce that he didn’t even get a playoff assignment.
Agreed on Steratore…best ref out there….what a scam….I guess politics has taken over the NFL
Agree, Steratore.
The love affair with Vinovich continues I see.
Could being an alternate count toward the the qualification for being able to be an on field official at the Super Bowl? Jerome Boger was an alternate a couple of years ago.
In a word, no. Assignment as an alternate does not count.
Boger seems like a nice enough guy. I know he got promoted to WH in his second year, which is fast in the NFL. In the games I have seen him work after the promotion, he seemed pretty lost on the field. I hope he does ok in the SB
He is a nice guy, and he is generally good at what he does. For a Super Bowl official, however, generally and good are not terms I would expect to use.
For the sake of the game, yes, let’s hope he has a good game. Usually, the game runs smoothly because you have your 2 best teams and the players are better disciplined to not draw a stupid penalty or try to get away with something.
we are wondering how the officials are chosen and how much do they make for one game?
Ray Alexander, VP of Officiating, got his man.
And John Parry is the best referee in the NFL.
How he got shut out of the playoffs is beyond me.
It’s a total disgrace that Gene Steratore did not work a playoff game. He manages the game as well as anybody.He has a great feel for the game.
Craig Wrolstad is the man…….he loves Seattle and we are proud of him. He is a great AD at Seattle Christian High School. We love him and wish him the best of luck. I was hoping Seattle would be there….oh well maybe next season.
God Bless Jerome Boger to led the officiating crew for Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013.
Boger DOES look lost on the field. If they have to have a “black” referee, Mike Cairey is the best, regardless of color. I put Boger and Triplette in the “how are they still around” crowd every year.
Second I saw this, you knew the NFL wanted something to happen, ie: what happened tonight. Made 3k off this inkling.