Footballers who are paid to train and play on a similar basis are called semi-professional, so it is fair to question how revolutionary this refereeing development will actually be.
Officials from the English game will be way down the pay table compared to their counterparts in other sports around the world and much less is being asked of them.
The top-paid umpires in US basketball will take home roughly three-times the salary of a Premier League referee for a slightly shorter season. Major League baseball umpires also earn approximately double the salary and our top football officials may not actually bank much more than the top English Test umpires who work a full year.
Unfortunately, football officials' status and professionalism is perceived to be on a similar level to their white-coated cousins and after the mistakes that have been seen in the Test and one-day series here this summer, that is not good news.
Former top referee Clive Thomas said: "The players they are dealing with earn £60,000 in a week. If it was up to me, the refs would be paid a lot more.
"They have sold themselves cheap. They have not been strong enough when it comes to discussing money."
Setting a level of pay is clearly a difficult exercise and the amount was always going to be much less than the salaries paid to top players. It is similar in the US with basketball, where playing stars earn even more than our fabulously wealthy footballers.
But the only way to find out if the pay level is right is if a referee cannot afford to do without his money - if having the retainer and match fees is incentive enough to make them ultra-professional.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore confirmed: "Match officials now have further flexibility to continue with other chosen careers." In other words, if they want to earn more money doing something else as well, they can.
Last season, Sunderland manager Peter Reid said: "If we had professional referees you could certainly make them more accountable.
"If I don't do my job I get the sack, if players don't do theirs they are left out, but I don't know what happens to refs."
The answer is they can be demoted from the select group of 24 and their performances will be assessed by a seven-member panel, leading FA chief executive Adam Crozier to argue: "This is a big development for football.
"We will see a fundamental reorganisation of match officials which will lead to continuing improving standards of refereeing."
With the recent introduction by the FA of significant financial penalties against players and clubs who step out of line on the pitch, it could improve matters.
But outside the Premiership where the majority of games in this country take place, this so-called refereeing revolution is largely irrelevant.
The select referees will only take charge of six games outside the top flight each weekend.
Otherwise, the 50 referees working the Nationwide League will get a couple of extra days pre-season training and keep picking up their £210-a-game match fees.
