It's a tough job. You don't have (m)any fans and you make a lot less than the players for a significant risk of injury. All you get are hotel and airline points. 18 years is a solid run.
Completely disagree. You work 75 “days” (a gameday is what? 4-5 hours?) a year with summers off for 200k to 500k+ depending on seniority. If you have to go over that for playoffs you get bonused out. Linesman have comp a little worse. And going outside the scope of HFB no one knows who the hell you are nor do you have to answer for anything. CBA protects your job.
The downside is injury risk. And time away from home.
“All you get” is a pension, and a playoff game retirement bonus. A lot more than most could say.
Are these guys making crazy money? No. Are there cushier jobs? Sure. But doesn’t seem that tough to me.