When the NFL announced Gene Steratore’s retirement as a referee last week, there was a report that Steratore would join CBS as a rules analyst for the 2018 season.
That became official on Tuesday and Steratore’s job with the network will extend beyond the NFL. Steratore also spent the last 20 years as a college basketball referee, primarily in the Big Ten, and the network announced that he will also be a rules analyst for their coverage of those games.
“I’m excited to join CBS Sports and start the next chapter in my career,” Steratore said in a statement. “Officiating runs in my family. It started with my father, who refereed college football and basketball for more than three decades. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and began officiating when I was 19-years-old. I’ve had an amazing run, capped off by working the Super Bowl, but it’s time to hang up my whistle for a new challenge. This is an incredible opportunity to continue working on the two sports I love -- NFL football and college basketball -- and help viewers gain a better understanding of the rules of the game and how they are applied.”
Steratore will work from New York City during the NFL regular season outside of Thanksgiving, when he will be in the broadcast booth. That will also be the case in the playoffs and for Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta in February. With CBS owning the rights to the Division I men’s basketball tournament, Steratore will also work the Final Four in his first year in his new job.