We are getting that "much needed" new blood: That is precisely the problem. Someday you will learn paying minimum wage gets you minimum wage labor; hopefully you figure it out before your next house fire/burglary. Of course, NFL refs do serve no purpose so vital, so I am content for the market to set their wage, but it is doing so, and the price is rising weekly. The owners won the '87 players strike—ON PAPER; the scabs hurt the league brand so badly the owners will never repeat that error.