RIP Pro Bowl
The NFL is replacing the Pro Bowl with weeklong skills competitions and a flag football game, The Associated Press has learned.
The new event will replace the full-contact showcase started in 1951. It will be renamed “The Pro Bowl Games” and will feature AFC and NFC players showcasing their football and non-football skills in challenges over several days. The 2023 Games will be held in Las Vegas, and the flag football game at Allegiant Stadium is Sunday, Feb. 5.
Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions company will help shape programming and promote the event’s content throughout the week. Manning, a 14-time Pro Bowl pick during his Hall of Fame career, will provide his perspective and will also be a part of the coaching staff for flag game.
Now this is a great idea. I mean, everyone hated the Pro Bowl, right? It was inevitable that they’d get rid of it, but this is the perfect replacement. A skills competition and flag football game. It’s still a celebration of the sport and the league, but you cut down the injury risk while giving these guys a reward at the end of the year for what they did on the football field.
Seems like Kelce is digging it:
So many great opportunities. I hope the NFL branches out beyond football specific things. Spike ball tournament, ping pong, cornhole, dodgeball, chug offs/drinking games. This has been a missed opportunity by the nfl for so long. Love it!
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) September 26, 2022
This all sounds good. I’ve got Jason Kelce vs. Jason Peters in the finals of the hot dog eating contest. Too bad we couldn’t do it last week at the Eagles game, which would have helped Pagan break the glizzy record.
What do you think? You like this change? RIP Pro Bowl.