Scott Hanson Defends NFL Officiating, Calls League "Best Refereeing" in America, Hosts RedZone

Scott Hanson defends NFL officiating as the best among the four major U.S. sports, despite an ESPN report showing accepted penalties at their highest level since 1978.

Hanson: The NFL is the best professional sports league

Millions of NFL fans spend every Sunday of the season with Scott Hanson, the acclaimed host of "NFL RedZone."

Fewer people are more aware of flags being thrown - or missing - than Henson checking in or out of the game's biggest moments on Sunday afternoon.

ESPN Insights reported last week that NFL officials have called more accepted penalties during Week 4 than during the same period in any season since 1978. Officials have also given up 17 touchdowns, compared to just five in four weeks last season.

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Hanson joined OutKick for a wide-ranging interview, and the state of NFL officiating was part of the discussion.

Referring to the league's response to dispute concerns about the number of flags in 2026, Hanson said, "I believe the NFL just released a statement on penalties. I don't know when people are going to watch this [we taped on Friday, Oct. 9], but as we speak here, the NFL is saying that penalties will actually decrease per game this year."

When asked about the ESPN Insights report, Henson said he tries "to err on the side of respect for all the professionals involved — players, coaches, support staff and officials."

"I truly believe NFL football is the best -- I know this is going to be controversial -- of the four major sports," he continued.

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We next asked Hanson if he agrees that officials throw too many flags, especially during the regular season.

"I know people want to say I'm a company guy, but that's really how I feel. To answer your question, are there too many? I don't care about the number. Accuracy is what should matter."

"Of course, there are calls that go the wrong way, that aren't made the right way. And it's not because of the interpretation of the rules. It's because the human eye can only move so fast. And a lot of times, the human legs and arms and body can move faster than we can tell with the human eye. And then sometimes there's an error in judgment."

Last week, OutKick argued that the NFL will reduce penalty kicks during the postseason because it knows too many flags are disrupting the game. This apparent change in philosophy raises an obvious question: If the league is comfortable letting players play in January, why do we call the game so much tighter during the regular season?

"That might get me fired here, but I'm not even sure they're going to read it any other way [in the playoffs]," he responded. "Each game is in a separate window, so each call is magnified massively. So there's a narrative that develops, right?

"We're all at the same point where the NFL is putting together an all-star crew, right?" "If you're not great, you don't get a playoff game," he asked. By the way, I also don't get a problem with the officials making the grades public, which helps fans understand, "Okay, this crew or that crew might not count. They don't get a division game. They don't get the Super Bowl."

Later in the interview, Hanson and I had a deep and respectful discussion about the historical Jesus. If you're interested in that topic, we recommend watching the full interview on YouTube here.

We appreciate Hanson's willingness to engage in a friendly discussion on these matters. He is a great broadcaster and an all time better person.

We hope to bring him back to OutKick soon. See the full interview by clicking here.

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