What You Didn't Know About The First Female Super Bowl Referee

"Collectively, the Super Bowl LV on-field officiating crew has 88 years of NFL officiating experience and 77 combined playoff game assignments (including past Super Bowls)," read the NFL's announcement of the officiating crew. So how much of that experience did Sarah Thomas chip in? Rocking uniform number 53, Thomas has officiated for six seasons in the NFL. And she has overseen four playoff games. In fact, according to Sports Illustrated, she was responsible for another NFL first back in 2019 when she was the first woman in the league's history to ever officiate an NFL postseason game. That game saw the New England Patriots take on the Los Angeles Chargers. And even that wasn't her first history-making game. Four years before that, she became the NFL's first-ever full-time female referee.

According to ESPN, Thomas remembers the exact moment she learned she would be officiating in the NFL. "That call came Thursday, April 2 at 10:47 a.m.," she said, adding that "I tell my girlfriends and family that I was speechless, and it's hard for them to believe that now, but it was just an honor and a humbling experience, and I'm glad I got the call."

Gerry Austin, the former NFL official who hired her for college football, praised her understanding of "the spirit of rules" and her communication skills. "She has the ability to calm the coach down and to explain whatever the coach is questioning," he said.

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