Sarah Thomas to Make History as First Woman to Officiate In a Super Bowl
NFL referee Sarah Thomas will be the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
The NFL announced its officiating assignments for Super Bowl LV on Tuesday and named Thomas as the game's down judge.
Carl Cheffers will referee the game and will be joined by umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge James Coleman, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Din Paganelli and Thomas. Mike Wimmer will be the game's replay official.
“Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super Bowl official,” NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said in a statement. “Her elite performance and commitment to excellence has earned her the right to officiate the Super Bowl. Congratulations to Sarah on this well-deserved honor.”
In Jan. 2019, Thomas became the first woman to officiate an NFL playoff game, having previously been the league's first-full time official when she was hired in 2015.
The Super Bowl LV on-field officiating crew has 88 years of NFL officiating experience and 77 combined playoff game assignments.
The game will be played in Tampa with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET.