The NFL has made a number of changes over the years in an attempt to improve the Pro Bowl, but JJ Watt feels there is still at least one big issue with the event.
While the NFL has worked to improve the Pro Bowl product by re-implementing a skills competition and introducing flag football, we have still seen an overall lack of enthusiasm from players who are invited to the Pro Bowl Games. Several players have backed out due to injuries. Others are not participating because they are instead preparing for the Super Bowl.
And there are some players, like Denver Broncos offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz, who have simply declined the invite.
The need for several alternate players led to a harsh comment from Watt.
“When you get 5 alternates deep, just call it the Participation Bowl,” Watt wrote on X.
When you get 5 alternates deep, just call it the Participation Bowl.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 28, 2025
Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow were the three quarterbacks voted to the AFC Pro Bowl roster. Allen pulled out because of a wrist injury, and Jackson declined as he has done numerous times in the past. Bo Nix was then invited, but he reportedly declined due to an upcoming procedure. Nix was apparently a fourth alternate.
Russell Wilson and Drake Maye have since accepted invites in place of Jackson and Allen.
The Pro Bowl obviously has to fill out rosters, but you can understand Watt’s point. A player can be invited to the event as a seventh alternate and then get to be called a Pro Bowler for the remainder of his career. That definitely dulls some of the shine, though there isn’t much the NFL can do about it.
