What the NFL Needs to Do to Fix the Pro Bowl

The Pro Bowl has become an afterthought of the NFL campaign. Previously played after the Super Bowl, the game is now sandwiched between the Conference Championship Games and the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, the Pro Bowl is not as exciting as it once was. The Pro Bowl doesn’t live up to the hype of NBA All-Star Game Weekend or even the MLB All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby.

At some point, the NFL needs to try and fix the Pro Bowl. The question is, how do they do it?

The NFL desperately needs to fix the Pro Bowl

The NFL Pro Bowl game is being held in Las Vegas this time around. However, it is still an uneventful game. The ticket prices are dropping quickly, and it doesn’t help that the NHL All-Star Game is also in Vegas on the same weekend.

Nonetheless, the past few Pro Bowls have been duds, and the NFL should be in a rush to try and fix it. Surprisingly, the ratings were pretty good back in 2018, but a few years later, the demand for tickets has dropped significantly.

With the ratings, these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. When football is on, people will watch. But, it isn’t exciting, and if it weren’t for the skills challenges — such as dodgeball — the Pro Bowl might still be an afterthought.

Even in 2019, the Pro Bowl ratings were pretty decent.

Still, there is no denying the NFL needs to make the Pro Bowl more enjoyable, both on television and in person.

The NFL should follow the NBA format and have the two captains draft a team

The NBA adopted a new system recently. Instead of having the two conferences face off against one another, the two captains draft their teams and face off at the All-Star Game.

The NFL should try doing the same thing, at least to add entertainment value for the draft itself.

The NBA steals the spotlight during the All-Star Game Draft, and the NFL could very well do the same. It would add excitement and intrigue.

Wouldn’t you want to see Patrick Mahomes throw passes to Cooper Kupp?

If the NFL decides to do that, anything can happen. LeBron James drafted all of his buddies in the 2021 draft, and how cool would it be to see Justin Herbert and Mahomes go up against each other at the Pro Bowl?

It might be an idea worth considering. After all, it worked well for the NBA, and it gets even more interesting when players from the same team play for opposite teams. For example, it might be cool to see Mahomes on one team and Travis Kelce on the other.

The league should try to implement rule changes and use the Pro Bowl as a guinea pig

The NFL is already doing that this season by implementing the new Spot and Choose method. This decision comes at the perfect time, especially after the Buffalo Bills and Chiefs Divisional Round thriller ended and sparked overtime controversy once again.

The Baltimore Ravens suggested this as a change recently and it got shut down, but now the league is testing it out at the Pro Bowl.

There are other rules the NFL could mess with and use this game as a guinea pig for. Over the years, the NFL has repeatedly discussed different rule changes, and why not test some out at the Pro Bowl?

Nothing is on the line and the players are having fun all week long, so adding another twist and wrinkle could make the game more exciting and bring more eyeballs to the stands as well.

All in all, the Pro Bowl isn’t too exciting, especially sandwiched in between the Super Bowl. Changes are coming to the NFL.

RELATED: Should the NFL Finally Ditch the Pro Bowl?

The post What the NFL Needs to Do to Fix the Pro Bowl appeared first on Sportscasting | Pure Sports.

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By: Matthew Wadleigh
Title: What the NFL Needs to Do to Fix the Pro Bowl
Sourced From: www.sportscasting.com/what-the-nfl-needs-to-do-to-fix-the-pro-bowl/
Published Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2022 19:18:00 +0000

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