Q: How much do NFL referees make?

NFL referees make an average salary of $205,000 per year. This means NFL refs earn five figures for each game they referee. There are 18 weeks in the NFL regular season, so the average NFL referee makes an estimated $11,388 per game. And this is just in regards to their base salary and doesn't include additional payments for preseason games and the much larger payments they receive for playoff games.

Q: How much do NFL refs make?

NFL refs make an average salary of $205,000 per year. This means NFL refs earn five figures for each game they referee. There are 18 weeks in the NFL regular season, so the average NFL ref makes an estimated $11,388 per game. And this is just in regards to their base salary and doesn't include additional payments for preseason games and the much larger payments they receive for playoff games.

Question 1

How much does a referee make?

Accepted Answer

The average referee salary in the United States is $56,571. Referee salaries typically range between $25,000 and $127,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for referees is $27.2 per hour.

Referee salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Referees earn the highest average salary in Pennsylvania.

Question 2

What state pays Referees the most?

Accepted Answer

Pennsylvania pays Referees the most in the United States, with an average salary of $77,920 per year, or $37.46 per hour.

Question 3

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as a referee?

Accepted Answer

You know if you are being paid fairly as a referee if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Virginia you should be paid close to $76,753 per year.

Question 4

How much do NBA refs make?

Accepted Answer

NBA refs make anywhere between $180,000 to $550,000 per season. This depends on each individual ref's experience, job title, and the level of the game the ref is officiating.

NBA refs are generally paid more to referee NBA Playoff games and a good deal more for NBA Finals games. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, referees can expect to earn around $10,000 per game, and in the semi-finals and finals, refs can earn up to $30,000 per game. These earnings are separate from their base salaries.

Question 5

How much do NFL referees make?

Accepted Answer

NFL referees make an average salary of $205,000 per year. This means NFL refs earn five figures for each game they referee.

There are 18 weeks in the NFL regular season, so the average NFL referee makes an estimated $11,388 per game. And this is just in regards to their base salary and doesn't include additional payments for preseason games and the much larger payments they receive for playoff games.

Question 6

How much do NFL refs make?

Accepted Answer

NFL refs make an average salary of $205,000 per year. This means NFL refs earn five figures for each game they referee.

There are 18 weeks in the NFL regular season, so the average NFL ref makes an estimated $11,388 per game. And this is just in regards to their base salary and doesn't include additional payments for preseason games and the much larger payments they receive for playoff games.

Question 7

How much do UFC refs make?

Accepted Answer

A professional UFC referee earns between $1,500 and $2,500 each match and between $5,000 and $10,000 per pay-per-view event. Entry-level MMA referees make approximately $250 per fight.

Question 8

How much do professional referees make?

Accepted Answer

Professional referees make a wide variety of different salaries. This depends on many different factors, including:

What professional sport they officiate
How many games they referee per season
The experience level of the referee
If the referee participates in officiating any playoff games or championship matches

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	West Virginia	$72,206	$34.71
2	Pennsylvania	$77,920	$37.46
3	Arizona	$72,096	$34.66
4	Virginia	$76,753	$36.90
5	Michigan	$72,090	$34.66
6	Connecticut	$74,660	$35.89
7	Massachusetts	$65,975	$31.72
8	Vermont	$69,649	$33.49
9	Maine	$65,483	$31.48
10	Rhode Island	$65,713	$31.59
11	Kentucky	$61,641	$29.64
12	North Carolina	$65,572	$31.52
13	Washington	$65,491	$31.49
14	Delaware	$64,672	$31.09
15	Maryland	$64,547	$31.03
16	California	$66,380	$31.91
17	New Hampshire	$63,885	$30.71
18	North Dakota	$55,326	$26.60
19	Indiana	$57,245	$27.52
20	New Mexico	$59,179	$28.45
21	Oregon	$61,600	$29.62
22	Nevada	$58,794	$28.27
23	District of Columbia	$62,824	$30.20
24	Wyoming	$56,172	$27.01
25	Iowa	$54,867	$26.38
26	Utah	$49,566	$23.83
27	Ohio	$54,458	$26.18
28	Wisconsin	$49,686	$23.89
29	Montana	$47,381	$22.78
30	Arkansas	$50,710	$24.38
31	Alaska	$52,273	$25.13
32	Idaho	$50,493	$24.28
33	Kansas	$46,285	$22.25
34	South Dakota	$47,385	$22.78
35	Minnesota	$48,010	$23.08
36	Illinois	$47,170	$22.68
37	New Jersey	$48,679	$23.40
38	New York	$48,766	$23.45
39	Louisiana	$46,972	$22.58
40	Tennessee	$39,594	$19.04
41	Florida	$42,887	$20.62
42	South Carolina	$45,215	$21.74
43	Texas	$36,211	$17.41
44	Georgia	$37,724	$18.14
45	Alabama	$38,034	$18.29
46	Colorado	$32,691	$15.72
47	Hawaii	$40,582	$19.51
48	Missouri	$34,043	$16.37
49	Oklahoma	$40,179	$19.32
50	Nebraska	$33,798	$16.25
51	Mississippi	$32,508	$15.63

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Philadelphia, PA	$78,501	$37.74
2	Lynchburg, VA	$73,128	$35.16
3	Scottsdale, AZ	$72,059	$34.64
4	Greenville, NC	$69,737	$33.53
5	Roseville, CA	$68,384	$32.88
6	Shoreline, WA	$66,264	$31.86
7	Boston, MA	$65,727	$31.60
8	Medford, OR	$64,927	$31.21
9	Fort Wayne, IN	$61,443	$29.54
10	Albuquerque, NM	$58,877	$28.31
11	Iowa City, IA	$55,624	$26.74
12	Anchorage, AK	$53,049	$25.50
13	Racine, WI	$49,476	$23.79
14	Pleasant Grove, UT	$49,023	$23.57
15	New York, NY	$48,653	$23.39
16	Fridley, MN	$48,060	$23.11
17	Missoula, MT	$47,894	$23.03
18	Wheaton, IL	$47,158	$22.67
19	Overland Park, KS	$46,338	$22.28
20	Palm Harbor, FL	$44,615	$21.45

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$127,000	$10,583	$61
75th Percentile	$86,000	$7,167	$41
Average	$56,571	$4,714	$27
25th Percentile	$36,000	$3,000	$17
10th Percentile	$25,000	$2,083	$12

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Syracuse University	$61,766	$29.70
2	YMCA of Metro Knoxville	$57,408	$27.60
3	The University of New Mexico	$57,272	$27.53
4	City of Greenville, NC	$57,141	$27.47
5	Think Together	$55,714	$26.79
6	Ymca Of Metropolitan Atlanta	$55,382	$26.63
7	University of Pennsylvania	$51,764	$24.89
8	Volo Aviation	$51,485	$24.75
9	The State of Oregon	$50,559	$24.31
10	University of Alaska	$50,483	$24.27
11	Rink Management Services	$49,532	$23.81
12	ZogSports	$46,680	$22.44
13	City of Roseville Michigan	$46,435	$22.32
14	Fairmont Schools	$46,288	$22.25
15	City of Moorhead	$45,022	$21.65
16	City of Racine	$40,738	$19.59
17	Wheaton Park District	$38,954	$18.73
18	Des Moines, Washington	$38,675	$18.59
19	City of Medford	$35,844	$17.23
20	City of Plymouth, MN	$33,891	$16.29

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2026	$56,600	$27.20	+1.3%
2025	$55,800	$26.83	+5.4%
2024	$52,800	$25.39	+0.8%
2023	$52,400	$25.19	+4.3%
2022	$50,200	$24.12	+3.1%

Referee salary

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