Brad Allen

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Brad Allen
Born
official
(2014–present)

Brad Allen is an

American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 2014 NFL season
, wearing uniform number 122.

Career

A native of Lumberton, North Carolina (and a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, formerly Pembroke State University), Allen began officiating football games at the high school, and later, ACC, levels. When he made his NFL officiating debut in 2014, he was originally going to be an umpire, but when long-time referee Mike Carey announced his retirement on June 24, 2014, Allen was given the referee position instead; this was the first time since 1962 that an NFL official in his first year of officiating was given that honor (Tommy Bell was the last NFL official to do so).[1]

He called the 2007 Motor City Bowl, the 2009 International Bowl, the 2012 Rose Bowl and the 2014 Sugar Bowl.

During the 2023 season, he drew widespread attention when the officiating crew he led made a number of questionable calls. Most infamously, on December 30 in a Detroit Lions game against the Dallas Cowboys, his crew nullified a Detroit 2-point conversion in the game's final minute, as Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker, who made the two-point conversion, was flagged for illegal touching. After the game, a video was released showing Decker telling Allen that he was an eligible receiver, however, Allen stated that it was Dan Skipper who reported, as the latter made a hand gesture. Skipper later denied reporting to Allen as an eligible receiver. It ultimately led to Detroit losing the game to the Cowboys. The penalty was abhorred by both Lions fans and the media. That, and several other controversial calls during the 2023-24 season, led the NFL to downgrade the crew and prevent them from officiating playoff games.[2]

Personal life

Outside of officiating NFL games, Allen is executive director of the N.C. Senior Games, and the CEO of a non-profit.[3] He also serves as clinic leader and booking supervisor for the Southern Officials Association.[4]

2023 Crew

Source:[5]

  • R: Brad Allen
  • U: Duane Heydt
  • DJ: Sarah Thomas
  • LJ: Walter Flowers
  • FJ: Rick Patterson
  • SJ: Boris Cheek
  • BJ: Greg Yette
  • RO: Kirt Shay
  • RA: Brian Davies

Statistics

[6] Totals League Averages
Year G G plyf Pos Home Visitor Home% HWin% Tot Yds Pen/G Yds/G Home% HWin% Pen/G Yds/G
2014 15 0 Referee 65 103 38.69% 0.40% 168 1388 11.2 92.53 48.41% 0.57% 13.21 110.68
2015 15 0 Referee 85 101 45.70% 0.33% 186 1494 12.4 99.6 49.16% 0.54% 13.75 117.11
2016 16 1 Referee 131 125 51.17% 0.63% 256 2218 16 138.63 48.68% 0.58% 13.33 114.94
2017 16 1 Referee 79 112 41.36% 0.69% 191 1626 11.94 101.63 47.84% 0.57% 13.2 114.62
2018 15 0 Referee 91 91 50.00% 0.53% 182 1511 12.13 100.73 49.03% 0.59% 13.37 113.84
2019 15 0 Referee 101 99 50.50% 0.67% 200 1688 13.33 112.53 47.44% 0.52% 13.37 113.41
2020 16 1 Referee 84 83 50.30% 0.56% 167 1473 10.44 92.06 48.28% 0.50% 11.11 95.95

References

  1. ^ Schramm, Stephen (July 19, 2014). "Long road leads Lumberton's Brad Allen to NFL as a referee". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "NFL expected to downgrade Brad Allen ref crew for playoffs after Lions-Cowboys questionable calls, per report". Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  3. ^ 2014 NFL Record & Fact Book
  4. ^ "UNCP alumnus Brad Allen shares his experiences as NFL referee before a record crowd at annual Cash Bash fundraiser". www.uncp.edu. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  5. ^ Austro, Ben (June 27, 2023). "Officiating crews for the 2023 season". Football Zebras. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  6. ^ "Brad Allen NFL Official Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2021.