In recent years, the NFL Pro Bowl Game has become an afterthought, and now, the league is getting rid of it.
According to NFL insider Jonathan Jones of The Athletic, the league revealed it is eliminating the game after surveying players.
“On Wednesday, league executives presented to team owners the future of the Pro Bowl, which will no longer have a standalone game — be it tackle or flag football — or games. After surveying players over the years, the NFL will now make the Pro Bowl effectively an individual performance award,” Jones wrote.
The NFL will still award 88 players the honor of being on the Pro Bowl team, but the game itself will not take place.
Jones reported that the process for selecting Pro Bowl players will be the same. Instead of them going to the game, players who make the team will go to Los Angeles for an in-person celebration in February.
The most recent rendition of the game included a skills competition and a flag football game, and the past event was held during the week of the Super Bowl in another puzzling move. The game was also played on a Tuesday, and ratings plummeted after those changes.
The Pro Bowl discussion continued with Cleveland Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders being named a replacement after a flurry of others declined to participate.
