Why Aren't AFL Umpires Full-Time?

[Present Not Past]

Even if not full time they still earn enough that they could just umpire and do nothing else if they wanted. What would making them full time achieve?

According to this article: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/pay-rise-for-afl-umpires-20121207-2b0qg.html

• Field Umpires - $150,000
• Goal Umpires - $60,000
• Boundary Umpires - $60,000
  
  

If that is true then they're already professional as far as I can see. That kind of money for a few hours work a week.
The only reason then why they keep making mistakes is because they are s**t at their job.

 

[Wojcinski]

Thats not enough to justify a career which ends in your thirties.

Good Umpires usually last til closer to 50

 

[Bomberboyokay]

What would they do all day ?

what exactly so you want them to do for the middle 5 days a week?

You say this like players work 40 hours a week.

 

[Seeds]

You say this like players work 40 hours a week.

players have to deal with injury and recovery between matches. They also have to get far fitter then umps.

 

[Seeds]

Good Umpires usually last til closer to 50

do they? who are the oldest umpires around today?

 

[Gydafud]

What do other professional referees/umpires in sport do to fill their time?

 

[Lex22]

Even if not full time they still earn enough that they could just umpire and do nothing else if they wanted. What would making them full time achieve?

According to this article: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/pay-rise-for-afl-umpires-20121207-2b0qg.html

• Field Umpires - $150,000
• Goal Umpires - $60,000
• Boundary Umpires - $60,000
  

That’s what I’ve always thought, if you’re making 150k a year for umpiring then you can be a professional and just do that. No one is forcing them to work elsewhere.

Even 60k a year for the other two is the full time wage for a lot of skilled workers that have put more in to their career than a goal umpire has.

 

[ShadeyP]

Absolutely the Field Umpires should be and there should be 4 on the field .
We also need a fair fixture , without these 2 crucial things addressed we will never have a fair and equitable competition .
Just a money making entertainment machine that was once the greatest game in the world .

The benefits of 4 umpires in a shifting diamond formation should not be underestimated .
Far superior viewing angles of contests , decisions made with a stationary eye and under way less fatigue .

Also the umpires would have the ability to umpire until they are 50 possibly even 55 .
They would also be able to umpire 2 matches some weekends with less running each match .

The positioning , communication , and interpretation of the rules are obviously key.
So there is plenty for them to do during the week in constant review for implementation.
As full time professionals they become accountable and the pay packets should match

For field umpires :

You could have 4 categories being Elite , Senior , Grade and Junior with tiered pay structure .
Elite could be earning between $250 and $300 K per year and there would be approx 8 umps within .
Senior umpires between $175 and $225 K and this should have around 12 in the bracket.
Graders earning between $120 and $150 K per year and should have 12-16 within .
Junior umpires start at $75 and $100 K and the pool could be similar to graded cat .

Goal umpires and Boundary can stay part time .

A pool of $ 20 million dollars a year to get this game sorted out is nothing considering how much money this beast provides for all of the bureaucratic pigs at the trough .

Besides the players and coaching departments the umpires have the most impact on the game and what needs to be questioned is WHY won't the AFL fix it , my take is they like it the way it is .

The agenda at play is more easily achieved with grey areas and shifting accountability .

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Why go full time? They're on good wages without having to be professional off-field.

 

[funk44]

Because it would drastically limit the number of people willing to become AFL umpires if it became a full time career that required them to sacrifice other ongoing careers.

At the moment they can work other jobs and build up their non umpiring careers - at whichever pace they choose - whilst progressing through the umpiring ranks. As they make the AFL umpiring ranks it becomes a well paid 2nd job that requires a heavy but not impossible time commitment, similar to a lot of semi-professional athletes like Olympians.

Make it full time and you'll get state league umpires starting to progress to the top ranks in their mid to late 20's when they also are likely to have to start making stronger career choices and that becomes a difficult decision.

What will you pay umpires? 70k? 100k? And on what kind of contract? 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? Guys might choose that over careers when they are 25 but by the time they've done 100 AFL games and are really set for 10 years of prime umpiring at age 30 they'll probably think they need to go back to their business career and start establishing themselves before they become a 40 year old umpire earning 80k a year on year to year deals and about to retire from that profession.

I'm not opposed to making a number of full time slots. Maybe up to 12. You can give 4 umpires a year 3 year deals. Rotating 4 jobs every year allows the best 12 get some job security. But I'd still like to a large part of the elite umpiring group part time so the lawyers, finance guys, IT workers, passionate teachers etc etc can stay in their jobs and keep umpiring.

350k base + bonus + performance incentives seems about right for an elite umpire

 

[madmug]

The reason we haven't got full time umpires is because the AFL would rather pay huge salaries to their mates to sit in chairs at AFL house & pretend they aren't 3rd rate corporate heavies.

They've happy to see their mates suck a fortune out of the game. They'd rather not bother with making the onfield participants professional or work to help Australian Rules in struggling lower community leagues.

 

[master bate]

350k base + bonus + performance incentives seems about right for an elite umpire

That's an extra 10 mil a year on current pay I think, not in itself a problem. But you're also going to have to give out contracts that balance fairness and getting the best umpires. Could be umpires who work their way up, have some good years, sign a 5 year deal on 400k a year and then stink.

It's a lot for the AFL to invest for what I think would only be marginal gains.

Keeping the rules the same and refining current training would probably achieve the same thing.

 

[Carson Dial]

No one is prepared to offer them full time work...

 

[HTT]

What would they do all day ?

• Learn the rules properly and consistently across the board
• Learn to bounce the ball properly
• Go to clubs to explain any adjustments to the adjudication of specific rules

 

[Boxhead_31]

Because the AFL is still an extremely amateur run league.

Is the NFL a professionally run league?
For they only went to full-time refs last year and even then there is only 20 of them

 

[Wojcinski]

do they? who are the oldest umpires around today?

Razor Ray is 42, Simon Meredith 43, Dean Margetts 44, Shane McInerny 48, Justin Schmitt 43, heaps more in their 40s

 

[Silent Alarm]

They're nerds who cares

 

[Aussie_boy]

What do other professional referees/umpires in sport do to fill their time?

I'm not across which Sports have professional adjudicators. But I would imagine the fact that MLB/NBA/NHL is played every day would mean that being professional is a necessity. Likewise with EPL officials, there are games on regularly enough to make being full-time beneficial. There is absolutely no need for AFL umpires to go full-time they'll still have their 1 second to make a decision and that's going to lead to errors regardless of how good they are and how much training they do.

 

[underthestars]

geez i'm not happy with any of them as part timers. i'd be outraged to be paying them more if they went full time.

 

[joy division]

Why are we talking about umpires being full time?

There are AFL footballers still out there doing trade apprenticeships and standing on ladders a couple of days a week

 

[Handsome.B.Wonderful]

I'd see far more incentive for people to get into it (both young people and ex-players) if you could make a full-time living or career out of it.



Well what are they getting paid now?

I doubt every umpire is on $100K+ outside of footy, too.

Perhaps the lifestyle and actual work they're doing would also be a consideration too. It's not always a salary vs. salary consideration.

How long can you be an umpire at the top level though?

The peak income age for most jobs is between 45-55, which means 30+ years of decent income building to a peak just before retirement.

Who is going to want to become an umpire?

You know you are unlikely to get an AFL gig before you are 25, and you have a maximum 10-12 years of well paid work and very little job prospects afterwards. There aren’t many umpires in the AFL media.

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

Good Umpires usually last til closer to 50

Which isn't a lot different from any career requiring physical exertion really. Most tradies are usually struggling by that age, if the haven't moved to running their own business and employing others.

 

[Handsome.B.Wonderful]

Also, if you think blokes like Razor Ray make it all about themselves now, wait until you put him on a 5 year / $2 million dollar deal.

It will be showtime!

 

[Wojcinski]

How long can you be an umpire at the top level though?

The peak income age for most jobs is between 45-55, which means 30+ years of decent income building to a peak just before retirement.

Who is going to want to become an umpire?

You know you are unlikely to get an AFL gig before you are 25, and you have a maximum 10-12 years of well paid work and very little job prospects afterwards. There aren’t many umpires in the AFL media.

I would think most of them do it more because they enjoy it and less because of the money

 

[Cincinnatus]

Full time umpiring is a natural solution to s**t umpiring.

It wont eliminate mistakes but it will make them better at their craft.

Its indeniable which makes it odd that some people are denying it.

Pay them 150-200k. They can work as long as their fitness holds up...so basically into their 50s.

At that salary if you cant set yourself up for retirement in your 50s you are doing something seriously wrong. Otherwise they can go for one of the numerous umpire development roles around the country or a job in the umpiring dept with the AFL.