Undoubtedly, officiating will play a role in who wins Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11 in Nevada.
So, you’re probably wondering, who are the referees for this game anyway?
The 2024 Super Bowl will have an officiating team of eight people, and leading that crew is Bill Vinovich, who has been working NFL games since 2001, according to Pro Football Reference.
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It will be the third Super Bowl for Vinovich, who also worked Super Bowl XLIX (Patriots over Seahawks in 2015) and LIV (Chiefs over 49ers in 2020). According to ESPN, Vinovich’s crews averaged 13.4 flags per game this season, which was tied for the seventh fewest.
However, it is also worth noting that Vinovich was the lead referee on a game that featured one of the NFL’s most controversial officiating decisions: When no flag was thrown after Los Angeles Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman demolished New Orleans Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis well before Drew Brees’ pass arrived. Every angle showed that it was an incredibly bad miss by referees. And the NFL even fined Robey-Coleman for the helmet-to-helmet hit after the game. The Rams went on to win in overtime, and Saints fans still haven’t forgotten the egregious error.
Here is the rest of Vinovich’s crew for Super Bowl 2024:
- Umpire: Terry Killens
- Down judge: Patrick Holt
- Line judge: Mark Perlman
- Field judge: Tom Hill
- Side judge: Allen Baynes
- Back judge: Brad Freeman
- Replay official: Mike Chase
Among this crew, Perlman, Hill and Chase all have previous experience in officiating Super Bowls.
Killens will become the first person to play in and officiate a Super Bowl. A former linebacker, he played for the Tennessee Titans – and made one tackle – in their loss to the Rams in the 2000 Super Bowl.
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