So long, Pro Bowl. You were on borrowed time.
The NFL has finally decided to cut ties with the meaningless exhibition, as they announced this morning that the annual NFL all-star contest will be replaced by a flag football game and other skill competitions. And all of this will take place on the usual Sunday before Super Bowl, but it will instead be held in Las Vegas moving forward.
According to ESPN, the skills challenges will take place “over several days” throughout the week after the Conference Championship Games, with the flag football game capping things off on the Sunday before the Super Bowl (February 5, 2023) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
All of the skills events will also take place in Vegas, with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions set to promote the event and provide commentary throughout the week. Manning will also be one of the coaches for the flag football game.
No word yet on exactly why types of skills challenges the league will come up with, but there’s a good chance you could see a lot of the events they’ve already been using during the lead-up to the Pro Bowl (like dodgeball and quarterback accuracy contests).
According to NFL Executive Peter O’Reilly, the NFL has been looking at making changes to the Pro Bowl for a while now, and their new idea has received a positive response thus far.
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“The feedback very directly from guys who had been in the Pro Bowl recently was to keep the construct of the week, make sure you’re having that multiday element,” O’Reilly said in a statement. “It was overwhelmingly positive both from players as well as from clubs.”
It’ll be interesting to see exactly what they can come up with. In the meantime, let’s all enjoy everyone’s favorite Pro Bowl moment ever.
