What Is Ed Hochuli's Net Worth and Salary?
Ed Hochuli is a retired American lawyer and NFL referee who has a net worth of $6 million. Ed Hochuli was an official in the National Football League from 1990 to 2017. He worked numerous playoff games, including two Super Bowls, and became well-known for his athletic physique and his clear, concise, and comprehensive on-field rulings. Hochuli was voted one of the best referees of all time by NFL head coaches and had a cult following among NFL fans. Outside of his NFL career, Ed co-founded the Arizona law firm of Jones, Skelton and Hochuli, P.L.C. in 1983. He's a partner to this day and has seen the firm grow from five partners and seven associates to more than 80 attorneys.
NFL Referee Salary
As an NFL referee, Ed earned an annual salary of $189,000.
Early Life
Ed Hochuli was born on December 25, 1950, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the second child in a family of six children. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Tucson, Arizona. Ed attended Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona, and graduated in 1969. While in high school, he played football and basketball, ran track, and was on the wrestling team. Hochuli then attended the University of Texas at El Paso, where he played linebacker on the school's football team from 1969 to 1972. He earned All-Western Athletic Conference academic honors in 1972 and graduated with his bachelor's degree with honors the same year.
Inspired by his father's career as a wills and estates planner, Hochuli then decided to pursue further studies in law. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona Law School in 1976. While in law school, he served as a law clerk for two years under United States District Judge Carl Muecke.
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Law Career
Hochuli began his career as a trial attorney. In 1986, he was one of the founding partners of the Arizona law firm Jones, Skelton and Hochuli, P.L.C. and remained there as a partner until his retirement. Ed specialized in civil litigation in the areas of bad faith and extra-contractual liability, complex litigation, insurance coverage and fraud, legal malpractice and professional liability, product liability defense, trucking and transportation industry defense, and wrongful death and personal injury defense.
As an attorney, Hochuli was admitted to practice in Arizona state and federal courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has been included in the "Best Lawyers of America" list since 2003 and in the "Southwest Super Lawyers" list since 2007. "Super Lawyers" includes only the top five percent of lawyers in a state based on point totals, as chosen by peers and through independent research by "Law & Politics."
Football Referee Career
In addition to his career as a lawyer, Hochuli began officiating Pop Warner football games as a law student in order to earn additional income. He was also inclined towards officiating as a way of staying in touch with the game of football, as he had stopped playing once in law school. His officiating carried over to baseball, where he was a Little League Baseball umpire from 1970 to 1973. Ed progressed to the high school level in 1973 and began focusing more on football games. He officiated games in the Tucson area until 1985. Throughout the 1980s, he also worked college football games for the Big Sky Conference and Pacific-10 Conference as a line judge.
Hochuli was hired by the NFL as a back judge in 1990 after applying to the league before the 1989 NFL season. His first game in the league was on August 11, 1990, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. During his first two years in the league, he was assigned to the officiating crew headed by referee Howard Roe. To gain more experience, Hochuli also participated in the NFL's partnership with the World League of American Football, where he worked as a back judge and referee.
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In 1992, Hochuli was promoted to referee in the NFL when longtime referee Stan Kemp was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and forced to retire. Ed had worked a pre-season game that year in Japan as a back judge when he received a telephone call from the then-Senior Director of Officiating, Jerry Seeman, asking him to work as a referee for the first time during a game featuring the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.
Since becoming a referee, Hochuli has headed the officiating crews for Super Bowl XXXII and XXXVIII. In addition to his Super Bowl experience, he has officiated numerous playoff games and many other regular-season games. Ed also served as the head of the NFL Referees Association, the union that represents NFL game officials. The union was responsible for negotiating a new contract for the officials prior to the 2001 NFL season.
Hochuli's presence on the football field throughout the 28 seasons he officiated in the NFL created a cult following. He became very well known throughout the years for his athletic physique and his ability to give comprehensive explanations while remaining clear and concise. His career as an NFL official was chronicled on the NFL Network's "Six Days to Sunday" in 2005. His likeness also appears in the "Madden NFL" video game franchise beginning with "Madden NFL 06." In 2012, Ed appeared on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" magazine. Hochuli announced his retirement from the NFL in March 2018.
Personal Life
Hochuli lives in the Phoenix metropolitan area with his wife Cathie. They have six children together and 10 grandchildren. One of his sons, Shawn, joined his father's profession as an official, working his first NFL season in 2014.
