The NFL are in the process of making history, as they have hired Sarah Thomas as their first full-time female official.
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Thomas has previous experience as a football official, and she was also the first female to referee a college bowl game.
She did this in 2009 after gaining experience as an official for Conference USA, who hired her in 2007.
Thomas started her officiating career for high school football games in 1999 before moving onto the college ranks.
She got even closer to receiving her big opportunity in 2013 when she officiated a preseason game, and was previously a finalist for a full-time NFL referee job.
Although Thomas is the first female full-time official for the NFL, she is not the first woman to referee a game – as one of the replacement refs in 2012 was female. Shannon Eastin worked a 2012 Week 1 game until the real referees returned.
The NFL officials had gone on strike that year and were locked out until a series of controversial calls – such as the Packers-Seahawks Fail Mary – caused them to return after three weeks.
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