Tom Brady may be the most notable retirement of the 2023 NFL offseason, but the football world saw another big name hang up the cleats for good this week. On Thursday, NFL officiating announced that referee Jerome Boger was retiring after 19 NFL seasons. Per ESPN, he was the league's longest-tenured crew chief.
Boger played quarterback at Morehouse College in Atlanta and wanted to continue to participate in the game when he realized he wouldn't be playing at the next level, per Boston.com. He started refereeing high school games before moving up to the college ranks. Boger has been a member of officiating crews that have worked in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the Arena Football League and NFL Europe.
Boger first took the NFL field as a line judge in 2004. After just two seasons, he was named a referee. In 17 seasons as a ref, he officiated six total playoff games, including Super Bowl XLVII between Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens, and Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers.
Boger's final NFL game officiated was the thrilling Week 18 matchup between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. In that game, the Texans lost out on the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. After quarterback Davis Mills hit Jordan Akins for a 28-yard touchdown with 50 seconds remaining, Houston opted to go for the two-point conversion and the win instead of attempting the extra point, and Mills again hit Akins in the end zone for the game-winning conversion. Texans head coach Lovie Smith was fired hours later.
Boger is not the only official retiring this offseason. The NFL also announced Thursday that down judge Jerry Bergman (21 seasons), line judge Walt Coleman IV (eight seasons) and back judge Steven Patrick (eight seasons) were also stepping away from the field.