WATCH: Troy Aikman rips into NFL officiating, calls their blatant overuse of flags ‘ridiculous’

If there’s one thing every NFL fan can agree on, it’s that officiating downright sucks. Troy Aikman has been saying it for years, and during last night’s Monday Night Football broadcast, he finally had enough.

After a ticky-tacky blindside block call, Aikman ripped into the officials, calling their blatant overuse of flags “ridiculous.”

Thank you, Troy Aikman

"I'm not gonna keep my mouth shut. That's a good call. Just not a necessary call."

"Nothing brings a broadcast to a screeching halt more than these yellow flags."

"The product's just not very good. I'm gonna be honest…I mean, this is ridiculous."

– Troy Aikman pic.twitter.com/8pErfB34T2

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 30, 2025

Shop Philly Sports Gear Here

As time goes on, NFL officiating has gotten worse and worse. With more rules than ever before and the NFL’s inexplicable emphasis on making games about the refs, it’s just ruining the on-field product. Every single game is marred by flags these days.

Doesn’t matter if it’s the Eagles, Chiefs, or whoever else is playing, NFL officials make the sport about them every chance they get. It’s pathetic and it needs to change.

For starters, maybe the NFL could actually make these guys full-time employees instead of seasonal ones. These aren’t concession stand workers at Dorney Park. The officiate the biggest sport in the country.

From 2017 to 2019, the NFL experimented with a group of about 20 full-time officials, hoping year-round focus on film study, practice sessions, and rule development would raise the standard of officiating. While every official is graded on every play, those evaluations remain internal, and the league never released any data showing the full-timers made officiating more consistent or accurate.

By the time the officials’ CBA was renegotiated in 2019, the program was quietly scrapped, with both sides agreeing the benefits didn’t outweigh the costs. In reality, the same judgment-call controversies — pass interference, holding, roughing the passer –persisted, reinforcing the sense that full-time status didn’t produce meaningful improvement.

Of course, if there’s one thing the NFL has, it’s money. They fine players every week for things nobody really cares about, fines that often equal the average American’s yearly salary. Yet somehow, they decided to scrap a full-time officiating program after just two years because of “cost”? Blow me — and Troy Aikman for that matter.

Troy Aikman speaks for all of us when he shits on the NFL like this. It’s a weekly occurrence that affects every single game. If the NFL isn’t going to put resources into improving their game day officiating, this is the kind of stuff we’re going to keep getting.