(CNN) -- The touchdown catch that wasn't. The first touchdown interception. The inaccurate reception. Whatever you call it, don't call the controversial call by replacement refs in the Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahwaks game a catalyst for the tentative labor deal with National Football League referees, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday. "It may have pushed the parties farther along, but we were really in intensive negotiations for the last two weeks," Goodell told reporters in a conference call Thursday to discuss the agreement, reached late Wednesday. Goodell also said he was sorry the league felt it had to resort to the replacements, few of whom had any previous NFL officiating experience. Many were high school or low-level college officials who hold down myriad other jobs, from schoolteachers to attorneys.
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NEW: Fans give officials standing ovation before Thursday game at Baltimore
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Monday night mistake didn't force settlement, NFL commissioner says
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The NFL labor deal with referees locks in pay raises, protects pensions for five years
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It comes 48 hours after furor erupted over Monday night's game
The league acknowledged Tuesday that the @placeholder should have won, but allowed the result of the game to stand.