NFL reportedly exploring major change to Pro Bowl

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL has explored numerous ways to make the Pro Bowl more interesting over the years, but none of them seem to work. After the 2022 edition of the game once again failed to generate excitement, the NFL may be ready to make a major change.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that NFL executives are discussing ways to improve the Pro Bowl. One idea that has been proposed is to eliminate the traditional game altogether in favor of something more entertaining. A flag football game is one possible solution.

The reality is, the traditional Pro Bowl game is not what it should be. So, what else can be done? Would a flag football game with some of the NFL’s stars be better? That’s just one possible solution. https://t.co/IRQoVNET1I

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 24, 2022

If you follow LBS, you know that we proposed the flag football idea during the last Pro Bowl. There is no real contact in the game anyway, so why bother making players wear full pads?

The biggest issue with the Pro Bowl is that everything looks like a regular NFL game until the ball is snapped. The formations are the same and the players are dressed the same. Once the ball is in play, you realize you are watching something entirely different from an NFL game.

A 7-on-7 flag football tournament might be more interesting. There are 88 players in the Pro Bowl, so those players could be separated into different teams for a mini-tournament.

Obviously, the NFL knows it has to do something. The current Pro Bowl format simply is not cutting it.