NBA Referees Ratify Contract with NBA

August 14, 2015 – The National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) ratified a seven-year contract with the National Basketball Association (NBA) on August 13, 2015. The referees met in Chicago and voted overwhelmingly to ratify the contract, which includes compensation adjustments.

NBRA General Counsel Lee Seham commented: “We appreciate the NBA’s cooperative spirit in negotiating the compensation enhancements that were long overdue.”

Brokered a year before the previous collective bargaining agreement was set to expire, the new contract ensures that in its first year the NBA Replay Center (Secaucus, N.J.) staff includes NBA referees.

“Technology can be a means for improved call review or it can be a tool for unbound mischief. We look forward to working closely with the League to ensure that the introduction of new technology has a net positive impact on call accuracy and the integrity of the game. The integrity component requires the final determination of any call to be made by a union-represented referee,” said Seham.

The NBRA and its members look forward to the 2015-2016 season and continuing to work with the NBA to uphold the integrity of the game.

About the NBRA
Established in 1973, the National Basketball Referees Association represents the 61 active and 16 retired referees of the National Basketball Association. The referees of the NBA seek to advance the quality of sports officiating, athletics and sportsmanship of professional basketball.