"Just give these guys flags nowadays." Now, the NFL will.
The NFL announced Monday they're scrapping the Pro Bowl in its current form in favor of "The Pro Bowl Games," a week of skills competitions that will culminate with a flag football game between the AFC and NFC Pro Bowl players.
The 2023 Pro Bowl Games will take place in Las Vegas, and the flag football game will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 5, 2023.
Since 1951, the Pro Bowl had been a traditional full-contact game. However, some of the game's marquee players had often declined to participate in the game due to injury concerns, and those that have played in the game more and more often play without the same effort and intensity as they do in the regular season. After all, other than bragging rights, the game is essentially meaningless.
In turn, the NFL hopes that a flag football game will ignite competition between the participating players without the high risk of full-speed, full-contact football. It also gives the league a chance to have the game's biggest stars play the same form of football played by kids all around the country.
"We've received invaluable feedback from players, teams and fans about reimagining the Pro Bowl, and as a result, we're thrilled to use The Pro Bowl Games as a platform to spotlight Flag football as an integral part of the sport's future while also introducing fun, new forms of competition and entertainment that will bring our players, their families and fans closer than ever before," Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's EVP of club business and league events, said in a statement. "Building on the success of the 2022 Pro Bowl and 2022 Draft, as well as our strong partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and Las Vegas Raiders, we look forward to bringing The 2023 Pro Bowl Games to the capital of world-class sports and entertainment."
The NFL says fans enjoyed the skills competition that preceded last year's Pro Bowl, with stars participating in events such as dodgeball, precision passing, best catch competitions and races to determine the fastest man.
Fan voting for the Pro Bowl will remain the same.
