If you are an NFL fan, you hate the NFL officials. In Week 12 alone, poor calls by officials affected the Browns/Ravens matchup, the Titans/Raiders matchup and the Patriots/Broncos matchup. In the case of the Browns/Ravens Monday night game, officials should have called back a last-second blocked field goal that led to a touchdown, as Ravens Strong Safety Will Hill picked up the blocked field goal and ran back sixty-four yards for the game winning touchdown. The problem was that Hill was obviously out of bounds long before he reached the end zone. Additionally, a timekeeping error during the Broncos/Patriots game led to a significant portion of the clock running out for no apparent reason during the last minute of the game. In both games, one could argue that the mistakes made by the NFL officials changed the overall outcome in the game. If the blocked Browns field goal would have been stopped when Hill stepped out of bounds, the game would have continued into overtime. If Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriot offense would have had more time on their last drive, perhaps they would have scored the touchdown they were hoping for, and the Broncos would not have had a chance to win the game in overtime.

These sloppy mistakes diminish the quality product produced by the National Football League, and they infuriate even the most devoted fans. No game should be decided by a bad official not knowing how to do his job correctly.

The solution to this problem is simple: either punish the officials making the mistakes, or make them full-time employees of the NFL. According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, the NFL is in the process of developing a new disciplinary system for the 2016 season that will allow the league to suspend officials without pay. As of now, the NFL can only reassign officials as punishment, which does nothing to solve the actual problem. This new system would be a huge step forward for the NFL, as officials will no longer be able to avoid consequences for their actions. It is amazing that a program similar to the one being developed has not been put in place before now. If an NFL player or coach violates any one of the NFL’s numerous policies, they will face heavy fines and sometimes even suspension. If the NFL can punish players and coaches, why can they not do the same to their own officials?

In addition to the new disciplinary system being installed, the NFL should at least consider making all officials full-time employees. As of now, NFL officials are considered part time employees, and are paid and treated as such. According to former head of NFL officiating Mike Pereira, all NFL referees should be made full-time employees. The rulebook is simply too detailed and complex to justify making NFL officials part time employees. As a fan of football, I’m inclined to agree with Pereira.

Obviously the NFL is a corporation whose primary goal is to make money, but paying officials a full-time salary would drastically improve the quality of NFL games, and would most likely increase the NFL’s profit margins over time. Of course bad calls will still occur, but finally starting to hold officials accountable for the calls they make will hopefully make a substantial improvement.