The NFL and the NFL Referees Association have officially come to terms and the lockout that led to the use of replacement officials is now over, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com.

The NFL has taken heavy criticism since a controversial call ended the most recent Monday Night Football matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.

The replacement officials ruled that Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate came down with a last-second Hail Mary touchdown, when the overwhelming majority of fans, pundits, players and coaches believe that Packers safety M.D. Jennings intercepted the pass.

This was a blown call that directly affected the outcome of the game, and the subsequent outcry appears to have finally brought the end of the referee lockout.

Just as it did when Tate was gifted the touchdown, Twitter exploded with the news of the real referees' return. Here are some of the highlights.

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com broke the news on Wednesday:

Deal with refs isn't imminent anymore...It's done! Regular refs are working Browns/Ravens Thurs. Check @cbssports for more — Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 27, 2012

Fox Sports analyst Jay Glazer hit us with the details:

Last sticking point was pension and the sides agreed to keep old benefits in place for 5 years then all will move into 401k after that — Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) September 27, 2012

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay wanted to make sure that the fans knew he was listening. Fans have been talking and being ignored for months now, but at least we can take solace in knowing that Irsay will hear us when we scream.

Let's be clear,when our NFL Fans talk,we listen..if you're unhappy,we're unhappy...we're here 2 serve U..everything we do is to please YOU! — Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) September 26, 2012

The Faux John Madden account is always entertaining, and it brought us this piece of fake news that sums up the feelings fans have toward the replacement refs.

BREAKING:Referee lockout to end; Replacement refs to report back to Foot Locker ASAP — Faux John Madden (@FauxJohnMadden) September 26, 2012

USA Today Media Group's James Christensen noted that Ed Hochuli is getting in a few last-minute workouts to ensure that he fills out his referee shirt just as well as he did prior to the lockout.

After news of the end of the referee lockout, Ed Hochuli celebrated by military pressing a small Volvo. — James Christensen (@NEPatriotsDraft) September 26, 2012

SI.com reporer Jimmy Traina took a moment to poke fun at the NFL front office.

I just don't understand why the NFL felt the need to get rid of the replacement refs when league said they got the call right on Monday. — Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) September 27, 2012

NFL Network reporter Albert Breer brought us two interesting tweets, starting with this one.

NFL says officially that the Browns-Ravens game will be officiated by real referees. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 27, 2012

Breer followed that with the news everyone wants to hear.

NFL says officially that the Browns-Ravens game will be officiated by real referees. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 27, 2012

Glazer followed up his earlier tweet with some more information regarding the details.

The officials will vote it to make it official on Friday but that's just a formality. — Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) September 27, 2012

In case you were wondering as well, ESPN's Andrew Brandt answers a question.

Guy on street to me: "Does this mean the replacement referees are fired?" That would be a yes. — Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) September 27, 2012

Let's take a break from the serious stuff. Faux John Madden is entertaining, and Not Bill Walton is never far behind. Check this out.

BREAKING: Foot Locker reports that they no longer are understaffed. — Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) September 27, 2012

Bleacher Report's Ryan Rudnansky got in on it as well, asking an all-important question.

Now the question is, have the real #NFL refs been working on their game in the offseason? Or have they been partying this whole time? — Ryan Rudnansky (@RyanRudnansky) September 27, 2012

NBA.com reporter David Aldridge pondered the image everyone had in their head. Admit it.

Welcome back to...The Guns of Hochuli. — David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) September 27, 2012

NFL Network reporter Jeff Darlington makes us believe that Ed Hochuli knows exactly what the NFL world is secretly thinking.

I asked Ed Hochuli how many curls he's been doing: "As soon as I heard the rumors today, I got down on the floor and started doing pushups.” — Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 27, 2012

Awful Announcing, another highly entertaining parody account, asks the question on everyone's mind.

So... now's the part where we all go back to talking about Tebow... right? — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 27, 2012

How about some sympathy for the replacement refs? There isn't much to be found, but Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller threw them some kind words.

Welcome back REFS glad y'all was able to get a deal done but thanks to replacements refs 4 trying their best given da circumstances.#GN — CjSpiller (@CJSPILLER) September 27, 2012

FOX Sports Radio host Peter Burns echoed Spiller's sentiments.

Sadly, there were some replacement refs that did a fine job during the lockout that will not get the credit they deserve — Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsRadio) September 27, 2012

Tulane Law School professor Gabe Feldman speaks to the saddest part of this entire ordeal.

Final terms of new NFL-Ref CBA will leave fans asking a familiar question: Why didn't they reach this deal a month ago? — Gabe Feldman (@SportsLawGuy) September 27, 2012

While getting Hochuli a referee jersey that isn't three sizes too small speak to Irsay's desire to "improve officiating overall," fans will be thrilled to have the real refs back nonetheless.