5 ways the NFL could make the Pro Bowl more enjoyable for fans
The NFL Pro Bowl has been the traditional end of the season for all the players not involved in the Super Bowl, and it serves as an athletic exhibition for fans of every team. Players travel to Hawaii looking to showcase their most exemplary individual skills—one-handed catches, spin moves, and no-look throws.
However, for years there have been complaints about the lack of competitiveness in the game, and it's understandable—players don't want to risk injury in what is a showcase event and nothing more.
Furthermore, the timing of the Pro Bowl doesn't always make for crowd excitement as these players have reached the end of a long season and would just like to be on the beach, especially those who just a week earlier lost in either the AFC or NFC Championship games.
Much of the 2022 discourse is about canceling the NFL Pro Bowl altogether, but that would deny fans a part of the calendar that has become a fixture; however, there are alternative options.
What are five ways the NFL can improve the Pro Bowl for fans?
#1 – Ditch the game and have a skills contest
The lack of competitive football isn't going to change with the Pro Bowl being held at the end of the season.
The NFL needs to take inspiration from what other North American sports have done to make a skill contest the main attraction.
In fairness, the NFL has introduced events like this to the Pro Bowl week, but when you look at the 3-Point and Dunk contest in the NBA and the MLB's Homerun Derby, this is the zenith of mid-season events that the NFL has to strive to reach.
Fans don't necessarily buy Pro Bowl tickets to watch a game of regulation NFL football; they want to see star players, and they want to get as much Instagram content as possible.
If you cancel the game itself but have the entire day focused on specific tests of skill: offensive and defensive players doing a field-goal challenge, wide receivers only being allowed to catch one-handed, and quarterbacks having to throw over a certain distance and knock a flag off a pole, then fans will still be entertained.
If you just look at the popularity of Dude Perfect videos on YouTube, people love watching athletes showcase incredible pieces of skill and athleticism; it doesn't necessarily have to be in a game setting.
NFL considering dropping Pro Bowl after lowest viewership in 16 years trib.al/aV3n1H5 https://t.co/LJWzNLiVVU
#2 – Shorten the field and play touch football
If the NFL is intent on the Pro Bowl being an actual game of football rather than merely a recognition of the best performing players that year, then something needs to be done to make the event stand out.
Fans want to feel like their money is being spent in a worthwhile manner. They want to feel as though they're getting something unique.
You're never going to see Patrick Mahomes playing a classic game of pick-up football on the street—but you can try and replicate it.
Shorten the field, make the game touch football to avoid most contact injuries, and just allow the players to play ball as if it's in the backyard on Thanksgiving.
There will be more exciting plays, more skills being shown, and fans will have more points and plays to cheer.