Who Are the Officials for Super Bowl LIX?
Super Bowl LIX is set as the Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, LA on Feb. 9.
The Chiefs will be looking for their third-straight Super Bowl title, and second in that span over the Eagles.
With The Big Game just under two weeks away, the NFL has announced its officiating assignments for the contest. Veteran official Ron Torbert will be the referee, and Super Bowl LIX will be his second Super Bowl assignment. He will be joined by side judge Boris Cheek, who is set to officiate his fourth Super Bowl. The duo will be the only two members of the officiating crew with Super Bowl experience, according to the NFL. Other members of the crew include umpire Mike Morton, down judge Max Causey, line judge Mark Stewart, field judge Mearl Robinson, back judge Jonah Monroe and replay official Kevin Brown.
While Morton has not officiated a Super Bowl before, he did win one as a player as an outside linebacker for the St. Louis Rams in 1999 when the franchise defeated the Tennessee Titans.
Now that you know a bit about the officiating crew for the Super Bowl, here's a little bit of background on how officials are selected by the NFL to call The Big Game.
How are officials chosen for the Super Bowl?
The NFL selects its officiating crew for the Super Bowl based on an evaluation system that is calculated throughout the season. The league's highest-rated officials at each position are selected based on the league's internal evaluation criteria to work the Super Bowl.
However, there is a caveat.
Only officials who have worked in the NFL for five years are eligible for selection in the Super Bowl. As long as an official has worked in the NFL for five years, the highest-graded individuals at each position on the crew will be selected to work the Super Bowl.