Our national nightmare of underprepared and overabused replacement referees is over. The NFL's second lockout in two years -- first the players, then the referees -- has ended. The league's labor forces are secure for 10 and eight years, respectively.

The lengths of these deals are not designed simply to avoid more labor pain anytime soon. They provide stability to fans, sponsors and TV networks. They also provide cost certainty to owners and prospective owners, raising the already enormous values of teams.

I was wrong to believe that the fiasco Monday night in Seattle would not be a tipping point for the NFL to make a deal, although it was more a "tipping over" point. It was the final exhibit in a mountain of evidence against the replacement referees. The gaffes suggested that the NFL was willing to sacrifice integrity and public confidence to forge its desired business deal.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose tenure has been defined by upholding the league's reputation as one of integrity, had to act.

Further, the "touchception" in Seattle resonated at a staggering level. It became more than a football story. It led the morning and evening news and infiltrated election coverage. Both President Barack Obama and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan -- a Packers fan -- weighed in. It made casual fans -- whom the NFL covets -- wonder why the NFL was using third-rate referees. It was like Super Bowl coverage, and it was for all of the wrong reasons.

Ironically, the replacement referees were hired to give the NFL leverage by showing that the game could go on without the regular referees, and they did the opposite. The errors of the substandard replacements, many on a national stage, ended up swinging leverage to the referees.

The deal

There were wins for each side in this deal, but they are sensible and expected, begging the question of why it took so long. Beyond the NFL's allowances on the pension issue, the deal appears to be very close to what was being discussed all along.

The resolution of the pension issue -- the "blood issue" -- in this negotiation swings toward the referees in the near term, but there is some long-term sacrifice. The pension continues for current officials through 2016 before it is frozen. The NFL's preferred defined contribution plan (401k) will be in effect for new officials and all officials -- excluding those with 20 or more years of service -- after 2016.