The NFL and the NFL Referees Association have agreed on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement that avoids a potential work stoppage and use of replacement officials. The deal runs through the 2032 NFL season. The league began the onboarding process for replacement officials last month because negotiations weren’t progressing. But they won’t be necessary. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association had been set to expire on May 31, and the two sides began negotiating in the summer of 2024. Terms of the deal weren’t immediately known but the NFL increased its offer to a 6.45% annual growth rate in compensation over a six-year labor deal, two people with knowledge of the offer told The Associated Press in March. A stalemate in 2012 resulted in a 110-day lockout and replacement referees were used.…