As many of you know, my son and I are soccer referees. I do it for fun, exercise, and a bit of extra money while he does it mostly for the money. ;-) If you'd like to see the background on what we do, you can check out my posts titled How to Make Money as a Soccer Referee and Soccer Referee Earnings Update (from this past spring.)
Now that the fall season is over, I thought I'd give you an update on how we did as well as a complete update on where we stand over the past several years.
Before we get into that, let's cover some background:
- There are two soccer seasons in Michigan. The spring season runs from (roughly) the beginning of April to the first of June while the fall season is September and October. In addition, there are tournaments that we sometimes referee before, during, or after the "regular season."
- For each game, there are three referees -- one center ref and two assistant referees on the sidelines (touchlines in soccer-speak.) The center referee gets paid more and takes care of all the paperwork that needs to be sent into the league post-game. There is a "two-man referee system" in soccer but the quality of the games is much lower (because there's no way two guys can see what three can). Schools use the two-man system quite often because it saves them money (since they only pay two guys), but as we say in the business, they "get the game they paid for" in return. We do not referee two-man games.
- We started refereeing in the spring of 2009. We did only AYSO games that spring as we learned the ropes, the rules, and the skills needed to be referees. AYSO games do not pay referees.
- In the summer of 2009 we got our "Level 9" United States Soccer Federation (USSF) badges. Level 9 is the lowest level badge to referee club games (which are paid.) We did both AYSO and club games that fall to continue building experience as well as making a bit of money.
- In spring 2010, I upgraded my badge to "Level 8" (my son wasn't able to at this point since he wasn't old enough.) We refereed fewer AYSO games and more club games, and I was in the center referee position (instead of an assistant referee on the sidelines) for a few of those games.
- The fall of 2010 saw us do even fewer AYSO games and more club games, more with me in the center.
- Before the 2011 season, my son upgraded to Level 8. In the spring he and I both refereed club only, this time with both of us doing center slots (we did do 11 games in an AYSO post-season tournament.) In the fall, we did club only and did higher level (older kids) games.
- In the fall of 2011, pay raised for assistant referees. It's not as high as center refs, but it was a nice boost. For us it meant that one of us was getting a pay increase every game since we always ref together -- usually one in center and one on the side.
For those of you interested, here are the current pay ranges by age of the players ("U" means "under"):
- U8-U9: Center Referee: $25, Assistant Referee: $10, Game length: 50 minutes
- U10: Center Referee: $25, Assistant Referee $15, Game length: 50 minutes
- U11-U12: Center Referee: $30, Assistant Referee $20, Game length: 60 minutes
- U13-U14: Center Referee: $35, Assistant Referee $25, Game length: 70 minutes
- U15-U16: Center Referee: $40, Assistant Referee $30, Game length: 80 minutes
- U17: Center Referee: $45, Assistant Referee $35, Game length: 90 minutes
We usually referee U11 and U12 games. The highest we've ever done is U14 as center (me) and U17 as assistant referees (both of us.)
In addition to earning income, we pay for our own expenses. In the early years we had to buy all of our uniforms, supplies, etc., but now we have most of what we need. Major expenses lately are simply restocking stuff that is worn out, mileage (driving to games), and fees to recertify every year.
We split the money 50/50. This was an agreement we made when I was doing more center refereeing and thus earning more -- so it was a better deal for my son. We pool all the money we make, split it evenly, AND I pay for all the expenses, so it's a great gig for him. ;-)
With that said (long preamble, huh?), here are the number of games we've done as well as what we've earned (total) by season:
- Spring 2009: 28 games, $0 earned
- Fall 2009: 36 games, $465 earned
- Spring 2010: 27 games, $440 earned
- Fall 2010: 25 games, $545 earned
- Spring 2011: 34 games, $905 earned
- Fall 2011: 28 games, $1,321 earned
In summary, we've refereed 178 games (97 paid) and earned $3,676 in three years.
As you can see, we're earning more every season as we referee more paid games, more games where one of us is in the center position, higher level games, and games that have higher pay (because of the recent assistant referee increase.)
We could make a lot more. We have a lot of restrictions on when we referee, how we referee, etc., so our assigned games are limited. For instance, we only referee on Saturdays and then only when we are free. We missed two whole weekends (which is 8 to 10 games) this fall because I was traveling or my son had a soccer tournament to pay in. In addition we only referee together, which makes it difficult to assign us games (which limits the number we do). We also only do club games for a few clubs. We could add other clubs, do high school games (I've been asked to do these but so far have declined), do games on all days of the week, do adult league games, and do even higher level games -- and make much more.
I haven't asked any of the guys who make this a real money-maker what they earn in a season, but I'm thinking that someone who was motivated and really worked at it could make $3,000 each season (or $6k per year). Not bad for a fun side job that gives you a bit of extra income.
Where will we go from here? I'm not sure. I'm guessing that we'll keep at this until my son is at least out of high school, then perhaps go our separate ways (at some point, he's going to be able to do more games and higher level games than I can do physically.) As long as it's still fun for me I'll probably stick with it -- for no other reason than it's a great way to get a different form of exercise (swimming is my main exercise method these days.)
Anyway, this is a great example of how you can turn a hobby into an income. Anyone else out there done something similar?
Thats a nice way for a sports fan to make a side income.
Posted by: jim | November 08, 2011 at 12:29 PM
I looked into refereeing about a year ago when I was in tight financially and was basically unemployed. I never went through with it becaue I realized I would have to go through with all the tests and equipment purchases. I also didn't go through with it because I was in search of a way to make some real income, rather than something on the side.
Now, that I have found stable work (actually almost TOO much work, thank goodness!) and have a yearning to stay in shape, I think reffing might be a viable option for a little padding on the bank account. Thank you for your article and sharing your experience; it has rekindled my interest in being on the soccer field once again, not as a player, but as an official.
Posted by: Derek | November 08, 2011 at 12:29 PM
I was a soccer referee for 5 years mainly because my kids wanted to do it to earn some extra money and since I was driving them around, I took the course and did it also. Three of them played soccer for several years as well also and one still plays. Once they got too busy to do it, I let my license lapse.
Anyway, I know what you are saying when it comes to soccer.
Posted by: cashflowmantra | November 08, 2011 at 06:19 PM
FMF,
Do you and or your son file a Schedule C for your soccer earnings?
Posted by: Peg | November 09, 2011 at 08:00 AM
Peg --
I do.
Posted by: FMF | November 09, 2011 at 08:06 AM
I'm an exercise science student and never really thought about refereeing. This is actually really cool and doesn't seem like a bad way to earn some extra cash. It's also nice because here in Florida everything goes year round. This would be a really quick, fun way to earn some extra college spending cash!
Posted by: Nikki | November 09, 2011 at 10:09 AM
It's hard to believe there is a league that doesn't pay it's refs. I've been reffing now for 14 years and have been paid for every game I've reffed from the 4 year olds on up to men's D1.
Posted by: PK | May 30, 2012 at 01:43 PM