Who Is the Referee and Officiating Crew for the 2022 Super Bowl?

We're still waiting to learn who will play in the Super Bowl this year, but we do know which refereeing crew will get the party started at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Ron Torbert's crew gets the nod this season after the league deemed them as the most accurate crew throughout the year. Torbert will work his first Super Bowl as a referee since starting at that position during the 2014 season. He first worked at the NFL level in 2010 as a side judge.

Before the casual viewers learn his name at the start of the coin toss for Super Bowl 56, let's learn a little bit about him, and whether there's an opportunity for an edge when it comes to betting the big game.

Take the Under in Torbert Officiated Games

Via Wes Reynolds of VSiN, Torbert's crew ranked third in least number of penalties called this season. That's great news for teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, who lead all remaining teams with the ninth-most penalties called against them this season. Unfortunately, for teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and L.A. Rams, who ranked second and third respectively in least number of flags called on them, they likely won't be able to take as much advantage of the opportunity against their prospective opponent.

The 49ers, just in case you're wondering, came in right in the middle of the pack at No. 14.

Via Pro-Football Reference, Torbert averaged 10 penalty calls per game for an average of 89.1 yards. The league average was 11.77 penalties per game for 101.38 yards.

So what does all of this mean?

While less penalties called can often lead to a cleaner game, it doesn't always translate to more points being scored. In this case, it's the complete opposite.

Torbert over 18 games this season has an OVER record of 6-12. Only Clay Martin's crew finished with less overs at 5-12 this season.

Torbert Has Earned This Opportunity Across Multiple Years

According to Football Zebras, Torbert was the expected nominee for the Super Bowl days before the announcement came out. Here's their report on his officiating history throughout his time in the NFL

This is not the first time that Torbert, 58, has been our frontrunner. In 2017, 2018, and 2020, we named Torbert as one of the final two Super Bowl candidates, and in 2018, we even went a step further and named him as the likely referee for Super Bowl LIII; former referee and current ESPN rules analyst John Parry was ultimately selected.

Additionally, Torbert has incredible recall, as evidenced from this penalty announcement involving multiple personal fouls, ejections and more.

The Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 13 from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.