Nick Barnett vs. Umpire Jim Quirk…
Last week, many of us saw umpire Jim Quirk drag Barnett away from a potential scuffle last week. Many of us probably wondered why the guy was being so aggressive. Barnett even indicated in an interview afterward that he was not able to breathe at one moment. Weird incident and as McCarthy said, unprofessional behavior.
To me, one of the more remarkable things about this whole situation is that the umpire Jim Quirk was fined one game check for the incident - which amounted to $8150. For some reason, I was under the impression that NFL refs didn’t make much money. I’d guess (conservatively) that Jim Quirk works 14 games a season, (not including playoffs where he likely would make much more) - that would come to some $114,100 a year. Keep in mind that is for about 4-5 months of work. Now, being an umpire is one of the more vulnerable ref positions on the field (they are the ones who often get knocked over when players run across the middle). Still, I’d get knocked down a couple times a year to make $114,100 working less than half the year.
Tags: Jim Quirk, Nick Barnett, Packers, Umpires
December 30, 2007 at 5:56 pm
He probably also does a handful of exhibition games, has required study of the rules and numerous meetings with his crew and league trainers. Still, more money than one would expect for a part time job. Is there a public record to determine whether Mr. Quirk has behaved before?
January 2, 2008 at 9:10 am
This is apparently the second such incident this Quirk guy has had in the last few weeks. Not sure about any sort of police record. Like a grade schooler, he may just be jealous of the attention tough-guy Ed Hochuli gets and because Quirk isn’t that obviously strong, he compensates by being out of control aggressive.