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How much do youth basketball referees make
How Much Does a High School Basketball Referee Make?
Being a referee is largely a thankless job. Not only are you bound to make mistakes from time to time, but it’s tough to keep up with live play. You’re also going to get yelled at by both players and fans. That gets even tougher when you’re trying to work at the high school level.
I am a basketball fan who has nearly three decades of experience both watching and playing the game. My own knowledge of the sport, backed up by extensive research of referees, allowed me to properly cover each and every section outlined below.
Here, I will look at the average salary of high school basketball referees, as well as how much those at higher levels get paid. I will then take those salaries and compare them to similar sports in order to discuss, not just income, but where refs fit into basketball as a whole.
Read on to learn more!
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What’s the Salary?
Before getting into anything else, we must first answer the question at hand: how much do high school basketball referees make? Truth is, it depends. Unlike other jobs where you have a fixed salary, pay differs for high school refs depending on where they are and their officiating level.
For instance, in San Diego, California referees get around $67 a game. That’s pretty solid for a part-time gig, and it can go up with experience. However, in Santa Cruz, California, the spread is a much wider (and much less stable) $30 to $63 per game based on your level.
The lowest high school referee salary in America is in Louisiana, where referees get just an average of $31 per game. Mississippi is the next lowest, paying out their refs around $40 on average.
In addition to those fluctuations, there’s also the issue of different pay at different levels. While some referees get the same throughout their county, many schools will have higher dollar amounts for varsity referees as opposed to those working with JV or freshman games.
That gap isn’t typically huge, but even ten or so dollars a game can really start to add up over the course of an entire season.
Are Higher Levels Paid More?
To look at high school salaries in context, you need to study how much refs make at all levels. At the end of the day, it’s more of a fun side hustle than a steady job. The money can add up, but it’s never going to supplement a real income. That’s not true of college and NBA refs.
Those who officiate Division 3 games, the lowest level you can ref in college, make roughly $135 per game. That then goes way up to $700 a game for the ones working in Division 1. Not only that, but they also receive accommodations, which high school referees do not get.
Of course, that then extends even further in the NBA. Those referees, working with the top athletes on a national stage, easily make six figures a season. In fact, the highest paid ones get about $400,000 or more a year.
Looking at the above numbers, it’s easy to see why most high school refs do it for a general love of basketball and the game rather than as a pure job. In some places, it can get to that level, but those are rare fringe cases rather than the norm.
What Do Other High School Referees Make?
For even more context on basketball referees, it’s also important to look at the two other popular high school sports (football and baseball) and see what they make.
As with basketball, officiators and umpires get different pay depending on their own personal history as well as what level they’re referring. However, looking at general numbers, the pay does fluctuate compared to basketball quite a bit.
For example, high school football officials can earn as low as $40 a game, to as much as $200. They can get paid for travel as well. Umpires, on the other hand, can earn anywhere between $60 and $90, with the ceiling going a bit higher if they’re working with traveling teams.
That shows that, no matter how you cut it, being a high school basketball referee is definitely the toughest job in the entire bunch.
FAQs
Here are some questions you might have about the topic, which I’ll answer briefly below.
Is Referring a Full-Time Job?
Though the position doesn’t pay enough at lower levels to act as a true income, it can definitely be a full-time job for those who do it at the college or professional level.
Which Basketball Referee Makes the Most Money?
Any of the top NBA refs, including Finals officials like James Capers, are the sport’s top earners. They typically pull in mid six figures a year for their work with the league.
Where Do High School Referees Make the Most?
No state pays more to high school referees than California. Even with the discrepancies between counties, those in the Golden State make more on average than anywhere else.
How Do You Become a High School Ref?
To become a certified referee you need to go through an official approval process. That includes having a high school diploma and then passing a written test to show you have deep knowledge and understanding of the sport.
Final Words
Being a high school basketball referee is far from lucrative. It can also lead to working odd hours and cause you to travel long distances without much reward. As such, those that do it simply do it because they enjoy being around or involved with the sport.
There’s nothing wrong with loving the game, nor is there anything wrong with earning some extra money doing so. It can also serve as a stepping stone to greater opportunities down the line. You have to put up with a lot, but for some, that’s part of the journey.
How Much Do NBA Refs Make? – Basketball Officials' Salaries
NBA referees are arguably the best officials in the world, but their pay pales in comparison to that of top-flight pro players.
Where elite NBA players can make up to $50 million annually, pro basketball officials are estimated to earn between $200,000-550,000 per year, plus travel reimbursements and a courtside seat for games.
But getting to the NBA is hard as there are thousands of basketball referees across North America and across the planet, so the chances of ever reaching the top end of the salary bracket are slim.
From the big leagues to lower levels, here’s a breakdown of how basketball officials are compensated.
The Big Leagues
There are about 80 on-court officials in the NBA, and as many as three work each of the 1,230 regular-season games and playoffs.
The lead official is the crew chief, and he or she is joined by two umpires that keep control of the game.
Veteran NBA crew chiefs make upwards of $550,000 per year — paid out to about $7,000 per game over about 80 games per regular season.
The best of the best earn playoff assignments, which could net them an additional $9,000 per game, and if they are chosen for NBA Finals games that pay could jump by threefolds.
Less experienced NBA umpires can still make six figures but more like $3,000 per game.
These officials still receive first-class travel arrangements, hotel reimbursements and per diem. Plus they still get to be on the floor for NBA games.
Officials have been covered by a union, the NBA Referees Association (NBRA), since 1973.
In 2017, the union expanded to cover officials of the NBA G League and WNBA.
WNBA officials make about $500 per game and nearly $200,000 per season. G League officials make less than that.
The NBA also relies on replay, which means it needs officials at its video operations room in Secaucus, New Jersey each night.
Those operators make about $21 per hour, according to Glassdoor.
College
The NBA is the majors, but where do the pros pull their talent from?
College, of course.
Officials of college games are not covered by unions but still can make more than six figures — around $2,500 per game in major conferences like the Big East, Big Ten or Big XII — according to Sapling.
Though college basketball plays far fewer games than the pros do, which means the earning potential is less in college even though the per-game cost can be more.
The median income for a college basketball official is about $36,000, with food and travel expenses reimbursed, which is a nice income supplement for those who officiate college or professional football games in the fall — former NFL referee and current CBS commentator Gene Steratore and current NFL official Bill Vinovich each have officiated college basketball games during their offseason.
Those who are chosen to officiate NCAA Tournament games can make $1,000 per game more, or $2,000 per game if they reach the Final Four.
Lower Levels
There are thousands of girls’ and boys’ basketball games played every day, including high school, AAU, youth and even adult men’s leagues. These games need officials too as tempers flare up and the sport doesn’t police itself.
For high school games the pay is less, but still can be lucrative, particularly as a side job on nights and weekends.
Officials for AAU games can make $70 apiece. High-end high school refs can make between $40-$60 per game, according to Dunkorthree.com, and on weekends could officiate two or more games per day
Youth referees can make a little less than high-school refs, roughly $30 per game, but again can work multiple games per day to boost their earnings.
So now you know how much basketball officials make, why not find out how much NHL referees make too?
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Sports professions. PartⅠ-Referee Edition II "Basketball referee
Due to the rapid development of basketball, the position of an arbitrator in this game, and especially a qualified master of his craft, is always in demand. If you want to know more about the profession, read the article!
Small introduction
Knowing how to play basketball is good, but in order to understand and understand all the nuances of the game, you need to go to the basketball referee school.Only there you can learn, and in the future, correctly perceive the referee's gestures, as well as look at the game with their independent eyes. At the same time, basketball will cease to be a game of a beloved and someone else's team, words of praise for the work done will be replaced by outbursts of anger and booing of fans, before your eyes there will be not a ring into which you need to throw the ball, but a set of basketball laws, from where one by one you need to draw out the appropriate rule for a particular situation on the parquet, and it takes years for this process to become automatic. practice and constant training.
How to apply for an arbitrator position?
At the moment there are many basketball refereeing schools, the doors of which are open to everyone and fans of this sport. First of all, this is due to the lack of personnel in the globally growing game. It is best to start your career with 15-16 years old . You can later, but then it will be difficult to gain the necessary experience. FIBA has established a limit for qualifying as an international referee under 35 years of age. Although the age of some basketball referees exceeds 50 However, it is better to start early for a successful career.
In order to take part in refereeing city and regional championships, you need to have a referee license. It is issued for one year and after successfully passing the basketball rules test and the Metronome general physical fitness test.
Where does a career start?
Talented personnel in basketball are required everywhere and there are practically no problems with employment. But you will have to develop your abilities first from judging children's, youth, and then adult city competitions. With an increase in the amount of accumulated experience, the council of the regional federation on a competitive basis can recommend for the championships of the regional level. Aphorism "Training hard, fighting easy" applies to a basketball referee as it should be. After all, the weaker the level of the game, the more difficult it is to judge. It's all about preparation - a less technically savvy athlete allows more marriage - hence there are more violations. Only daily work on yourself: studying the rules, consulting and discussing controversial and interesting points in the game with other referees, can give you a chance to get into such leagues as VTB and FIBA . There is a lot of methodological material on the Internet for this, various video lessons, recordings from referee seminars.
Basketball referee salary!
Hmm... If we take the basketball federations of Ukraine and Russia, then this issue is not so simple. The bottom line is that the referee's salary should be paid by the state association, but in fact the money comes to him from the clubs participating in the championship. In this regard, the arbitrators have no social. packages and pension, as such. And the fees themselves remain in the shadows. Hence the question: how honest are the referees, whose salary depends on the teams?
Salary of the Chief Referee of the Ukrainian Super League - 800 dollars per match.
The salary of the chief referee of the European League - 500 dollars per match.
In NBA everything is much simpler, more transparent, and the amounts are more impressive:
• the contract of the novice referee is 200 thousand dollars a year;
• The contract of senior arbitrators with experience reaches 550 thousand dollars per year.
Per game playoff referee in NBA can receive from 4,500 to 25,000 dollars, it all depends on the stage of the match in the tournament - from the first to the final.
Nuances of this profession
If you have reached the level of a professional and refereeing has ceased to be a hobby, then you probably already know how basketball referees live. And if only at the beginning of your career path, then this spoiler is for you.
Referees spend most of their lives away from home. About 3.5 weeks a month they take trips from city to city, from hall to hall. During this time, they manage to serve from 12 to 15 basketball games. It's also interesting to know that referees rarely sleep at night. After the game, they sort out mistakes and unclear situations, and many communicate with other referees, discussing each other's matches. Referees sleep more during the daytime and get up a couple of hours before the game. A true professional refereeing a match always struggles with doubts about the correctness of his refereeing. And only after reviewing the game, drawing conclusions and sorting out the mistakes, he can sleep peacefully. You can't always be right, but you can strive for it!
Basketball referee - conductor with a cool head
Why did I choose this title for the article? The answer is simple. In the hall where the basketball game takes place, the stands are located in close proximity to the site, which does not impress much in size. And the judge hears everything that the audience shouts. Therefore, the pressure on the referee is higher than anywhere else. But the truth remains that no matter how loud the indignant cries around are, the referee on the floor makes the right decisions a thousand times more often than he makes mistakes. And guided by this, a true professional will turn all the appeals of the public into white noise, and the indignation of the players and coaches into elements of silent cinema.
In conclusion, I will quote the words of one basketball referee:
"A mistake does not turn me into an amateur, does not make me a layman. It only means that I am human."
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In some places, it can get to that level, but those are rare fringe cases rather than the norm.
It can also lead to working odd hours and cause you to travel long distances without much reward. As such, those that do it simply do it because they enjoy being around or involved with the sport.
Plus they still get to be on the floor for NBA games. 
High-end high school refs can make between $40-$60 per game, according to Dunkorthree.com, and on weekends could officiate two or more games per day
At the same time, basketball will cease to be a game of a beloved and someone else's team, words of praise for the work done will be replaced by outbursts of anger and booing of fans, before your eyes there will be not a ring into which you need to throw the ball, but a set of basketball laws, from where one by one you need to draw out the appropriate rule for a particular situation on the parquet, and it takes years for this process to become automatic. practice and constant training. 
Although the age of some basketball referees exceeds 50 However, it is better to start early for a successful career. 
It's all about preparation - a less technically savvy athlete allows more marriage - hence there are more violations. Only daily work on yourself: studying the rules, consulting and discussing controversial and interesting points in the game with other referees, can give you a chance to get into such leagues as VTB and FIBA . There is a lot of methodological material on the Internet for this, various video lessons, recordings from referee seminars. 
During this time, they manage to serve from 12 to 15 basketball games. It's also interesting to know that referees rarely sleep at night. After the game, they sort out mistakes and unclear situations, and many communicate with other referees, discussing each other's matches. Referees sleep more during the daytime and get up a couple of hours before the game. A true professional refereeing a match always struggles with doubts about the correctness of his refereeing. And only after reviewing the game, drawing conclusions and sorting out the mistakes, he can sleep peacefully. You can't always be right, but you can strive for it! 
But the truth remains that no matter how loud the indignant cries around are, the referee on the floor makes the right decisions a thousand times more often than he makes mistakes. And guided by this, a true professional will turn all the appeals of the public into white noise, and the indignation of the players and coaches into elements of silent cinema. 
10.2022 
UNICS vs Astana 
10.2022 
