Criticism of the league's replacement refs increased after a controversial finish to the Seattle-Green Bay game. (Flickr/Creative Commons)

The source, who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity, said a deal is not as close as has been reported. Earlier Wednesday morning, ESPN reported that "an agreement in principle is at hand."

From the L.A. Times:

It’s a common negotiating tactic for one side to say that an agreement is near, thereby ratcheting up the pressure on the other side to either a) accept the deal or b) disagree, then shoulder the blame if the talks don’t lead to a resolution. There were similar reports by various outlets during the player lockout in 2011, with one side or the other prematurely indicating an agreement was imminent.

Criticism of the league's replacement officials intensified after a blown call on the Hail Mary pass in the Green Bay-Seattle Monday night game.

Read the full L.A. Times story here. Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of the NFL officials lockout here.

Reach Executive Producer Danny Lee here; follow him on Twitter here.