First Full-Time Female NFL Referee, First Female to Referee the NFL Super Bowl
Sarah Thomas paved a path for women in the male-dominated National Football League as the first full-time female official in NFL history. Her history-making game happened on September 13, 2015 between Kansas City and Houston – from which her hat, whistle and flag from that game are now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Thomas’s exemplary work as a down judge, in her sixth season as a full-time NFL referee, earned her the top-ranking amongst the 17 down judges in the league. To wrap up her 2020 season, Sarah again shattered barriers as she was selected to join the officiating crew at Super Bowl LV in Tampa, FL – making her the first female referee in an NFL Super Bowl.
A Pascagoula, Mississippi native and graduate of the University of Mobile, where she earned a full scholarship as a basketball player and Academic All-American honors, Sarah has a robust career in sports. Sarah began her football officiating career in 1996 when she attended a meeting for aspiring football officials with her brother, Lea. She officiated for 10 years in the high school space before being hired by Conference USA in 2007, making her the first woman to officiate a major college football game. This was just one of Sarah’s many history-making accomplishments:
While these are great accomplishments, Sarah says nothing compares to being a mom to her three beautiful children, Bridley (20), Brady (17) and Bailey (8).
