Super Bowl LVII: Who is Carl Cheffers? Official appointed chief referee second time in three years has rocky ties with the Chiefs
GLENDALE, ARIZONA: Carl Cheffers was named the primary referee for Super Bowl LVII by the NFL around the end of last month. This was not Cheffers' first time accepting the prestigious role; in fact, counting this appointment, he has been given the role twice in the previous three seasons and three times in the past seven years. Additionally, Cheffers had even supervised over Super Bowls LI and LV.
The NFL considers a number of factors when choosing Super Bowl officials, so appointing Cheffers as the lead referee was most definitely not an overnight decision. The league uses a season-long review process along with other seniority and eligibility requirements, such as prior on-field postseason experience as a referee, excluding the current season, and at least three credited seasons as a referee, in order to select the best candidate, as reported by ESPN. Given that Cheffers has been an NFL official for the second-longest period of time, just behind Jerome Boger, it appears that he was seen as the best candidate to serve as the lead referee for Super Bowl LVII.
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The Super Bowl LVII officiating crew: pic.twitter.com/y63WiFsEEl
— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) January 24, 2023
Who is Carl Cheffers?
Cheffers has extensive experience as an NFL official. He started out in 2000 as a side judge before getting the promotion as a referee in 2008. He has been a referee for the league the second longest, after Jerome Boger.
Cheffers' team of officials is primarily recognized for their flag work; in the regular season, they were the NFL's top penalty team, one of just three teams to average more than 12 penalties per game, as reported by Sports Betting Dime. They have led the league in penalties in three back-to-back seasons during the last ten years. Only three times in that time have they fallen short of the top five in penalty-throwers.
Chiefs fans not thrilled with Cheffer's appointment as lead referee
The most recent Super Bowl game officiated by Cheffers' team was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at the last Super Bowl. The Chiefs racked up 120 yards in penalties as a consequence of their 11 penalties.
Additionally, tight end Travis Kelce publicly criticised Cheffers following the Chiefs' 18-16 loss to the Steelers in the 2017 AFC Divisional Playoffs, which resulted in a $12,500 fine. Kelce has apologized to Cheffers for his disruptive behavior ever since. Kelce told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, "Carl, I apologize for saying it in that manner," during the league's Pro Bowl festivities.
