Not to be outdone by ESPN hiring Jeff Triplette, NBC has convinced Terry McAulay to retire and CBS has convinced Gene Steratore to do the same. With Ed Hochuli retiring earlier this offseason, there will be a lot of inexperience at Referee position this coming season.
The problem is Alberto Riveron and Co. seem to be valuing gender, skin color, and relatives of current officials over quality. One of the new R's hired was Shawn Smith, whose Referee experience is MAC and 1 mediocre season in B1G. Contrast that to Scott Novak who had many years in Big XII and worked National Championship Game as a Referee. Novak also has more seniority in the NFL and more consistent track record with playoff assignments. If you look at who has transitioned the best to the NFL among officials it is generally the officials who work the BCS games and other top college assignments. Those who work lesser games have struggled with the adjustment.
The NFL does have full time referees. They started it prior to the 2017 season
NFL hires 21 full time game officials - ( New Window )