Tom Brady will lead the New England Patriots, Jared Goff will lead the Los Angeles Rams, and it’ll be John Parry leading the third team on the field in Atlanta.
Who are the Super Bowl 53 officials and how were they chosen?
John Parry will officiate in his third Super Bowl, and his second as referee.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Parry, 54, will be the referee in Super Bowl 53 — his second time earning the NFL’s highest officiating honor in his career. His first was Super Bowl 46 between the Giants and Patriots, and Parry also officiated in Super Bowl 41 between the Colts and Bears as a side judge.
The full officiating crew includes three in their first Super Bowl, and three in their second:
Parry first joined the NFL as a side judge in 2000, and became a referee in 2007. Those looking for a conspiracy theory will be happy to hear that the Rams are a perfect 7-0 in games with Parry leading the officiating crew. But the NFL’s process for selecting officials for the Super Bowl should dissuade skepticism.
The NFL’s highest-graded officials are picked for the Super Bowl
Every official is evaluated for calls they made and calls they missed on every single play throughout the regular season. Head of officiating Alberto Riveron leads the way with grades and reports distributed to each official. Via the NFL Operations webpage:
The Officiating Department’s weekly evaluation process is thorough. Riveron and the Art McNally GameDay Central crew work with eight officiating supervisors to review every play from each of the seven officiating positions: referee, umpire, down judge, line judge, field judge, side judge and back judge.
The highest-graded officials at each position are selected for the Super Bowl. As for the lowest-graded officials...
For others, a subpar season-long performance could mean remediation, or even a demotion. NFL officials serve on a year-to-year contract, and they have to prove their mettle every year. There is no guarantee that they will return the next season.
So these officials aren’t just cherrypicked by the NFL. These were the best all year.
Parry earned plenty of praise for his officiating in Super Bowl 46. The officiating for the Sunday meeting between the Rams and Patriots is probably in good hands. After what happened in the NFC Championship Game, the NFL better hope so.
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