What is the next for the NFL Pro Bowl games when prestige struggles?
4 mins read

What is the next for the NFL Pro Bowl games when prestige struggles?

NFL has just completed 2025 Pro Bowl Games, the league’s third edition of the new format introduced in 2022. Already, already, The once prestigious game began to decrease And the league redesigned it and moved from a tackle football match to a series of skills challenges and a football match on flags.

Unfortunately, that change only seemed to make the event even less respectable. Earlier and for several years, the Pro Bowl league contained top level from the AFC and NFC conferences competing against each other at a high level. It was an honor to be chosen and participate in it would have a great sense for a player.

Nowadays, since Pro Bowl has the quality school’s field day type as events as Dodgeball, Tadget and Even Video GamesThe More and more players choose not to participate at all. For them, it is not worthwhile to risk playing in these stupid carnival games.

Pro Bowl game that loses the credibility

This year, 25 of the 88 players were replacement. Good enough, 11 of these were replacements for the Valen Kansas City and Philadelphia Eagles, who could not participate because of them on their way to the Super Bowl Lix the following week.

Several others Players decided not to attendThe But quoting injuries or potential injuries, and simply wish after rest after a long seasonas the main motivation. And even though it is meaningful, when so much star power is missing, the event really loses its integrity.

Some of the missing this year included MVP candidates Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. These two were replaced, for example, by Russell Wilson and Drake Maye. The talent is simply not the same – even Aidan O’Connell, Kirk Cousins, Justin Herbert and Joe Flacco ranked above Maye and Wilson in expected points added (EPA) per dropback during the 2024 season.

Unlike regular voting, To vote for alternatives are made by the players themselves. Unfortunately, this can result in popularity winning over talent.

Will we see a change in Pro Bowl in the future?

Given that NFL is still making a lot of money from Pro Bowl, and the players who participate seem to enjoy themselves, I very much doubt that Pro Bowl will disappear completely – At least not sometime soon.

But given that it gets less serious, but still is one of the awards taken into account for a player to enter the Hall of Fame, it would be nice If the league recognized if a player was elected to Pro Bowl as a starteror rather as an alternative or backup.

A possible solution to keep pro bowl an honor would be to Keep a ceremony instead of the event. Instead of showing the players’ skills during the event, the chosen players could only show up to a price exhibition to be recognized for their talent and hard work. In fact, NFL’s collective negotiation agreement has a clause about this particular idea:

NFL CBA Article 38, Section 6 (B)

“During a league year, the NFL can choose, at its sole discretion, not to keep a pro bowl game. In such a case The NFL will replace the Pro Bowl game with another event (eg without restriction, an award ceremony or NFL press message) that recognizes the performance for outstanding NFL playersAssuming that the NFL will consult NFLPA before deciding. “

In the future, if the NFL retains the games, which will probably do (for both exposure and money), they may consider moving the place back to Hawaii to offer more incentives for players. But As long as players still skip what is supposed to be a great honor just to get some restThe honor itself must be distinguished in some way beyond its current form.

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