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CFL to add video official to overturn obvious officiating errors

Will the NFL consider it soon?

The Canadian Football League is implementing a change that hopefully will eventually lead to a similar NFL change. For the coming season, the CFL is adding a video official at the CFL's command center in Toronto who will have the authority to overturn obvious officiating errors at any game around the league. The official will monitor all games with a dedicated feed that shows every player on the field. The league has mandated that this official will be able to "rapidly fix obvious errors that are not challengeable by replay."

Minor league sports have frequently served as places where rule experimentation helps push sports forward to improve the overall experience. Minor league baseball in particular has been used to eventually implement numerous rule changes at the major league level. The NFL does not have a minor league system (excluding the NCAA). Numerous developmental leagues have tried to start up, but the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League are the two that have stood the test of time.

A game will never be perfectly called, but adding this kind of thing can be a boon to removing significant mistakes. Added time is certainly one issue, but this experiment will give us a better idea how it might impact length of game. If it means getting obvious mistakes corrected, I'm all for it. I'm sure next offseason we'll more about this as the competition committee prepares to meet to consider 2017 rule changes. I don't expect a regular season rule change yet, but it would make sense to give it a try in the preseason.