Life As An NBA Referee

Sports Curious

If you like being the boss, following the rules and look good in black and white stripes, then maybe a career shift is in order? 1. While you’re going to have to work your way up through the system, NBA (National Basketball Association) referees take home anywhere between $150,000-$550,000, depending on experience. NBA referees have the potential to make more than the highest-paid WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association - player. (Highest annual salary in the WNBA is $221,450). Refs receive bonuses for officiating playoff games and the dollar amount depends on the importance of the game (i.e. you make more money working the finals). 2. Remember Billy Crystal traveling the nation as an NBA referee in the movie Forget Paris? It wasn’t his best flick but like his character, referees travel for work 25 days a month for eight months. That equates to calling 65-70 games in an 82-game season, not including playoffs. 3. Imagine being called out by your boss every time you present in a meeting. That’s what happens to the referees in the NBA’s two minute reports. The public report critiques the referees’ calls within the last two minutes of the game and overtime. The refs also review tape after games to make sure they’re at the top of their game. 4. It's not all mental. They have to be physically fit too because they’re running up and down the court for the entire 48 minutes alongside the players. Referees work on their fitness regimen in the off-season as any athlete would and they train their brains by utilizing virtual reality. And unlike the players, referees have a vaccination mandate. 5. Look out men, the women are taking the court, and technically, they're in charge. Danielle Scott, the daughter of a college basketball official, becomes the sixth full-time female referee this season. That's the most women the NBA has ever had on its officiating staff at one time.