Longtime NFL Referee Died Following Game On Sunday

Tragedy struck the NFL officiating family on Sunday. Longtime official Carl Madsen passed away on the way home from working Titans-Chiefs in Nashville.

Madsen had been a replay official since 2009. Prior to that, he served in an on-field role for 12 years.

“Carl Madsen was an NFL officiating fixture for more than two decades, first as a highly-respected on-field official before transitioning to a replay role in 2009,” NFL senior vice president Walt Anderson said in a statement. “A terrific friend and colleague, Carl’s love of football and dedication to officiating was ever-present, as he generously shared his time to mentor young officials at clinics across the country. A veteran of the Air Force, Carl had a tremendous spirit and will be greatly missed.”

During his career, Madsen worked seven playoff games, four in the booth and three on the field. He was the replay official during the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots in January 2019 and their AFC Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans one year later.

Madsen was also the replay official when the Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game in January 2018 and was on the field as an umpire when the Steelers beat the Bengals in the AFC Wild Card round in January 2006. That was the game in which Carson Palmer suffered a torn ACL on his first pass of the afternoon.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Madsen’s family, as well as the entire NFL officiating community, during this time.

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