According to the source who spoke to The Times, however, the league has informed current officials that seven men and one woman have been selected as new hires for this season, contingent on them taking physical examinations.
– The NFL is getting its first full-time female referee in the upcoming season. The news of Sarah Palmer's hire first came via tweet from a Baltimore Sun reporter, and the Los Angeles Times has confirmed. The league itself hasn't made the news public, but the LAT reports that current officials have been informed that seven men and one woman will be joining their ranks. Palmer already is the first woman to work a major college game and a bowl game. The line judge is a mother of three who played college basketball. One asterisk: Shannon Eastin became the first woman to ref an NFL game in 2012, when she was among the replacements brought in during the league's contract fight with officials. Palmer, though, is the first full-time hire.