The Pro Bowl should thank the 11 Hall of Fame voters who didn’t have Bill Belichick on their ballots because it took attention away from its own flawed process.
Both setups for selection need work, but at least there’s still plenty of weight in being called a Pro Football Hall of Famer. The same cannot be said for being called a Pro Bowler, with the NFL’s biggest stars often passing on the game, forcing the league to dig deep for participants on an annual basis. With the all-star exhibition filled with alternates upon alternates, the meaning of what it is to be a Pro Bowler has been lost for quite some time now.
“The Pro Bowl definitely has taken a hit,” one AFC coach told me. “I don’t know what it truly is, but it doesn’t hold the same weight, I don’t think. The honor of the actual award, maybe, but definitely not playing in the game or attending the event.”
Technically, Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is a Pro Bowler, but the football public is well aware that he’s not truly a Pro Bowler by the standard of what that honor used to mean. Sanders, who had seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions in eight games for a 5–12 squad, replaced Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, an MVP finalist, on the AFC roster because Maye is preparing to face the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
However, it’s not Sanders’s fault that players are rightfully skipping the event after a grueling, marathon-like season that only keeps getting longer. At the same time, team owners have been dropping hints that they will soon push for an 18-game season, despite expanding to 17 games in 2021. It’s also not Sanders’s fault that the Pro Bowl doesn’t carry the same weight that it once had. He’s far from being an elite quarterback—his legendary father, Deion, was selected to the Pro Bowl in his third season in 1991. Still, there’s no denying that he’s a ratings magnet and the league certainly cares about that.
Who knows whether Shedeur Sanders was the fourth alternate or the 16th option before joining the AFC roster for Tuesday’s Pro Bowl in San Francisco, but a large audience will likely tune in primarily to see what the Browns’ fifth-round rookie can do on the field, even in a flag football setting, another reason why this honor has lost some of its cachet.
There aren’t answers for improving the quality of the actual Pro Bowl game, because the days of star players going full speed in a meaningless game while putting aside the possibility of getting hurt are long gone—unless players start to routinely see fully guaranteed contracts, which is currently a pipe dream. The nostalgia of watching the best of the best chase one another in unique Pro Bowl uniforms on a Hawaii football field can now only be found on YouTube.
Still, there are ways to restore the prestige of what it used to mean to be selected as a Pro Bowler if the NFL ever decides to separate its priorities. The league can still hold its popularity contest for the unproven and high TV ratings while promoting flag football ahead of its Olympic debut in 2028, without being tied to the Pro Bowl.
“The NFL screwed up when they gave the fans a vote,” an NFC coach texted. “The most popular guy on TikTok goes to the Pro Bowl now. When it was coaching and players voting, it meant a lot more.”
Pro Bowl selections are determined by the votes of fans, coaches and players, with each group’s vote counting as one-third toward deciding which players will represent the two conferences. The fan vote was added to the Pro Bowl in 1995. Fans don’t have a vote when it comes to the Associated Press’s All-Pro selections, which are recognized as the true indicator for highlighting the league’s best players for the season.
There is still some weight in being named a Pro Bowler on the initial rosters, but it’s become increasingly complex to keep track of who wasn’t a last-minute addition. It’s gotten to the point where my colleagues at the MMQB are contemplating whether to avoid using Pro Bowler to refer to players and stick with only All-Pro selections. But spots for All-Pro are limited, especially at quarterback, with one going on the first team and the other on the second team. Joe Burrow has never been an All-Pro, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been one of the best quarterbacks since entering the league in 2020. That’s where the Pro Bowl used to come in, ensuring all the league’s star players were being recognized.
League executives have also started to overlook Pro Bowl selections in many areas, including contract negotiations, which have changed in recent years. When reporters scoffed at the lack of competition in the Pro Bowl five to seven years ago, before asking GMs and coaches how long it would take to get rid of the game, many were quick to say it likely wouldn’t happen because people still watch the Pro Bowl. It still presented plenty of value to players seeking their next contracts. The tune has certainly changed on the latter part ever since Tyler “Snoop” Huntley was named to the 2023 Pro Bowl roster, even though he spent most of that season as Lamar Jackson’s backup.
“I think [the Pro Bowl] still has some weight, but certainly less overall and not in contract talks,” one NFL front office executive texted. “It’s not like Shedeur can claim he made the Pro Bowl [when it comes to contract negotiations]. Maybe original ballots, some, but even then it’s limited.”
I mentioned to another NFC coach the idea of having a rising stars flag football game, similar to what the NBA does to showcase its younger talent during All-Star Weekend. The NFC coach responded that there needs to be a clear distinction between the star players and those trying to establish themselves in the league. He also referred me to a video of Draymond Green not being happy with the number of young players allowed to play with the league’s best in the NBA All-Star game.
“[The] Pro Bowl is still [the] Pro Bowl,” the NFC coach said. “I don’t think they need to get rid of the Pro Bowl. Fans still watch and enjoy it. Is flag football the answer? Probably not, but I’m not sure what the solution is. The problem with the rising stars is that those guys aren’t on the same level as Pro Bowlers, yet they're still being recognized as such. I thought Draymond addressed it pretty well.”
If the Pro Bowl has lost weight because the best are no longer showcasing themselves in an actual tackle football game, then returning to what it once was will remain a daunting challenge if the league prefers popularity and ratings above all else. For the time being, the league should either play two games with clear distinctions or stop using the Pro Bowl name for the end-of-season popularity contest in the form of flag football.
Again, solutions are challenging, but there’s no denying that being a Pro Bowler is no longer what it once was.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Execs and Coaches: ‘The Most Popular Guy on TikTok Goes to the Pro Bowl’.
