NFL referees for Rams vs. Seahawks: Meet Clay Martin's crew working 2026 NFC championship game

Stakes will be as high as ever when the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams meet for the third time of the 2025-26 season.

While the two NFC West squads split some intense matchups in the regular season, they'll now meet for a trip to Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara. As Matthew Stafford continues his attempt to lead L.A. to a second title in five years, Sam Darnold is attempting to bring Seattle a Lombardi Trophy in his first year with the team.

Naturally, calls from the officials will be under a closer eye for the NFC Championship Game. With the consequences as dire as ever, every decision made by the referees could dictate this year's Super Bowl matchup.

Here's what to know about the Seahawks vs. Rams officials on Sunday.

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• Predicting the Super Bowl 60 matchup
• Breaking down Seahawks vs. Rams NFC championship matchup

Rams vs. Seahawks referees for NFC championship

It will be Clay Martin's crew on the field for the 2026 NFC Championship in Seattle.

Martin has been officiating in the NFL since 2015, being promoted from umpire to referee in 2018.

According to NFL Penalties, Martin and his crew have given out 195 total penalties in the 2025 season, around 12.2 per game, which ranks a modest 10th among all crews. That includes one Rams and one Seahawks game; in Week 5, Seattle received seven penalties to Jacksonville's 10, and in Week 12, Los Angeles received four flags to Tampa Bay's six.

According to Pro Football Reference, the Seahawks have a 5-5 record in regular season games Martin has officiated. As for the Rams, they've gone 9-1 in regular season games officiated by Martin and his crew.

Here's a look at Martin's full crew.

NFL officials' on-field responsibilities 

Different officials hold different responsibilities when it comes to game day.

Here is the description of what each on-field official handles, via NFL Operations: 

Referee

Lining up 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the offensive backfield, on the right side of the formation, the referee is the white-hat wearing leader of the crew who signals all penalties and is the final authority on all rulings. They also maintain the pace of the game. Below are the referee's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Watches snap; watches for false starts by the QB and RBs; watches offensive lineman, monitoring their actions and those of the defenders engaged with them
• Pass plays: Watches snap; watches for false starts by the QB and RBs; watches offensive lineman, monitoring their actions and those of the defenders engaged with them; turns attention solely to quarterback as the defense becomes a threat; primarily responsible for all action around and to the QB/Passer; rules on Roughing the Passer, Offensive Holding, Pass/Fumble and Intentional Grounding.
• Special teams: On kickoffs, lines up middle of the field between the hash mark on the receiving team’s goal line; counts the receiving team and initiates the kickoff; on punts, primary responsibility is the Punter; on FGs/PATs, primary responsibility is the kicker and holder.

​Umpire

Lining up opposite of the referee, 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the offensive backfield, the umpire maintains control of the game/advises players, reviews player equipment, counts offensive players on the field, marks off penalty yardage and digs in piles after fumbles to determine possession. Below are the umpire's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Watches for false starts on offensive line; watches for illegal blocks by the offense or any defensive fouls at the line of scrimmage.
• Pass plays: Watches for false starts on offensive line; watches for blocking penalties or defensive fouls at the line of scrimmage; assists the referee with ruling on action around or to the QB/Passer.
• Special teams: On kickoffs, lines up on the kickers restraining line and ensures KO team is lined up correctly; responsible for kicking team not being offside prior to the kick. On punts, positions a few yards behind the Punter, as wide as the Left Tackle, watching for infractions by the Center and two Guards; on FGs/PATs, positions a few yards behind the Holder, to his right side, watching for infractions in and around the strong side of the defensive rush.

Down judge

Lining up on the sideline and looking directly down the line of scrimmage, the down judge oversees the line of scrimmage, directs the chain crew, watches for offsides/encroachment, counts offensive players on the field, informs the ref of the down, and rules on sideline plays on the nearest half of the field. Below are the down judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Watches for offside or encroachment; watches blockers and defenders on nearest side of field for any penalties; monitors sideline; determines when/if a runner is out of bounds; marks runner's forward progress.
• Pass plays: Based on formation, responsible for specific receivers; helps to rule on whether pass is complete or incomplete; rules if receiver is in or out of bounds when catch is made; rules on offensive/defensive pass interference, defensive holding and illegal contact of eligible receivers; determines if pass is forwards or backwards on passes towards them; assures passer is behind the LOS.
• Special teams: On kickoffs, positioned on the receivers' goal line on the sideline, counting players on the receiving team; On punts, observes LOS for offside and encroachment; on FGs/PATs, rules on false start, offside or encroachment at line.

Line judge

Lining up on the sideline opposite the down judge and looking directly down the line of scrimmage, the line judge has similar duties, including watches for offside and encroachment, counting offensive players and ruling on plays near their sideline. Below are the line judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Watches for false start, offside or encroachment at line; watches blockers and defenders on nearest side of field for any penalties; monitors sideline on plays run to nearest half of field; determines when and if runner is out of bounds; marks runner’s forward progress.
• Pass plays: Based on formation, responsible for specific receivers; helps to rule on whether pass is complete or incomplete; rules if receiver is in or out of bounds when catch is made; rules on offensive/defensive pass interference, defensive holding and illegal contact of eligible receivers; determines if pass is forwards or backwards on passes towards them; assures passer is behind the LOS.
• Special teams :On kickoffs, positioned on the receivers' goal line on the sideline, counting players on the receiving team; On punts, observes LOS for offside and encroachment; on FGs/PATs, rules on false start, offside or encroachment at line.

Field judge

Lining up on the same sideline as the line judge but 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield, the field judge counts defensive players and watches wide receivers/defensive backs on the nearest side of the field. Below are the field judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Watches widest receiver's blocking and looks for illegal use of hands or holding; determines if/when a runner on nearest side of the field goes out of bounds.
• Pass plays: Watches widest receiver on nearest side of the field and makes sure he is able to run his route without interference; rules on whether a pass to nearest side of the field is incomplete; rules on whether a receiver is in or out of bounds when he makes a catch; watches for pass interference.
• Special teams: Rules on blocking during punts; lines up under goal posts to rule on whether field goals and extra points are good.

Side judge

Lining up on the same sideline as the down judge but 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield, the side judge backs up the clock operator, signals to the ref when time expires for each quarter, counts defensive players and watches receivers on their side of the field for illegal use of hands and blocking fouls, and for penalties on defensive back covering him. Below are the side judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Watches widest receiver's blocking and looks for illegal use of hands or holding; determines if/when a runner on nearest side of the field goes out of bounds.
• Pass plays: Watches widest receiver on nearest side of the field and makes sure he is able to run his route without interference; rules on whether a pass to nearest side of the field is incomplete; rules on whether a receiver is in or out of bounds when he makes a catch; watches for pass interference.
• Special teams: On kickoffs, lines up on the receiver’s back restraining line and ensures the receiving team is lined up by rule; on punts, positioned 7-10 yards behind the receiver on the sideline, ruling on blocking during punts; on FGs/PATs, lined up in defensive backfield seven yards off the line of scrimmage over the snapper, watching for snap infractions and illegal blocks.

Back judge

Usually lining up on the tight end's side, the back judge is positioned 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield. The back judge keeps track of the play clock and all TV breaks and counts defensive players. Below are the back judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays, and special-teams plays.

• Run plays: Starts in the middle of the field, reading the initial action by the Left Guard, Center and Right Guard; when run play starts, focuses on the first-level action looking for defensive holding; goes to the second level looking for offensive holding; goes to the primary threat of foul.
• Pass plays: When pass play is read, they go to the #2 or #3 receiver based on the formation; immediately goes to the receiver where the pass is thrown; decides if receiver made a legal catch; rules on Offensive and Defensive Pass Interference, Defensive Holding and Illegal Contact of eligible receivers.
• Special teams: On kickoffs, lines up on the kickers' restraining line and ensures KO team is lined up correctly, responsible for kicking team not being offside; on punts, positioned 7-10 yards behind the receiver between the hash marks, ruling on fair catch and fair catch infractions and all other rules that pertain to scrimmage kicks; on FGs/PATs, lines up under goal posts to rule whether field goals and extra points are good.