Sarah Thomas Will Become The First Woman To Officiate A Super Bowl

We’re only a handful of days away from figuring out which two teams will square off in Tampa with the hopes of lifting the Lombardi Trophy, and on Tuesday afternoon, we learned a bit of information about Super Bowl LV that will make the biggest game in American sports a more historic than usual.

The NFL announced in a tweet that Sarah Thomas, who has been a referee with the league since 2015 when she became the first woman to have an on-field officiating role, will become the first woman to officiate the Super Bowl. ESPN noted that Thomas will serve as the game’s Down Judge.

“Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super Bowl official,” NFL executive vice president of operations Troy Vincent said in a statement, per ESPN. “Her elite performance and commitment to excellence has earned her the right to officiate the Super Bowl. Congratulations to Sarah on this well-deserved honor.”

The rest of the crew, headed by Carl Cheffers, will also include umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge James Coleman, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli. As for the teams participating in the game, the Green Bay Packers will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 3:05 p.m. EST on Fox this Sunday, followed by the Buffalo Bills traveling to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs at 6:40 on CBS.