For NFL referee Brad Rogers, football season does not simply fill a few weekends on the calendar. It can mean weekly travel from Lubbock, missed flights, long workweeks and time away from his family. Rogers recently brought that story to the Brownwood Kiwanis Club, where he discussed the path that carried him from youth football fields to the NFL.
Rogers and his wife, Lindsay, have learned to plan around a schedule that keeps him on the go for 17 NFL weekends. Some assignments also take place on Thursday nights. He recently worked in Denver when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Broncos in overtime.
Lindsay has a lighthearted way of marking the season. When August arrives, she hangs a sign on the front door that reads, “We interrupt this marriage to bring you a football season.” The source notes that wives of coaches and officials may understand the sentiment, although coaches at least have home games.
A career built one level at a time
Rogers’ rise to the NFL was gradual. He began officiating as a hobby with Lubbock Pop Warner games, then moved through junior high contests, high school junior varsity games, junior colleges and four-year colleges. His assignments eventually included Lone Star Conference games and major universities, including Southeastern Conference contests.
The NFL called in 2017. Rogers is now one of 122 NFL officials, and one of only 17 who wear the white hat identifying them as referees. His television uniform number is 126, a tribute to Lindsay’s January 26 birthday.
His workload has been extensive. The source reports that Rogers has worked 142 of the 143 NFL games assigned to him, with COVID-19 canceling the remaining game. Even outside football season, he stays involved in the sport as a volunteer basketball coach at Lubbock Christian High School.
Travel can test the schedule
Getting to assignments is usually manageable, but returning home can be far more complicated. Flights from Lubbock on Friday afternoons are generally routine, yet delays and missed connections have sometimes threatened Rogers’ ability to get back in time for his teaching responsibilities at Texas Tech.
When flights fail, Lindsay has driven to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to help him arrive promptly for his 9 a.m. class. On another occasion, Rogers and five other travelers were stranded in Dallas and missed their flight to Lubbock. They rented a van and divided the cost.
The couple’s experience with travel began long before Rogers reached the NFL. They met at Lubbock Christian University in 1996, when Brad noticed Lindsay, a student worker. She declined his first invitation because she already had a Friday-night date, but agreed to lunch. The two soon became engaged and waited until Lindsay graduated before marrying in 2002.
Family, criticism and split-second calls
Rogers is the son of Hal Rogers, a preacher, and grew up in a family that moved frequently. Lindsay, the daughter of Jack and Mrs. Box of Roswell, New Mexico, is an elementary school teacher. The couple has two daughters, both in college.
The family has also had to adjust to criticism directed at officials. Lindsay once sat next to a fan shouting profanities at a game. After learning that the target was Lindsay’s husband, the fan became considerably quieter, according to the column.
Rogers has worked in difficult conditions, including one game on a bitterly cold day when he wore a rubber wet suit beneath his uniform. He considers 80-hour workweeks normal and has developed a thick skin after hearing plenty from fans.
His work also requires judgment under intense scrutiny. NFL officials’ correct calls occur 97.3% of the time, according to the source. During one game attended by President George W. Bush, Bush flipped the coin before the captain called heads or tails. With television cameras focused on the moment, Rogers acted as though the coin had been fumbled, picked it up and requested that the call be made before a second toss.
For Brownwood residents who heard Rogers at the Kiwanis Club, the appearance offered a look beyond the uniform: a career shaped by years of advancement, demanding travel, family cooperation and decisions made in an instant.