The Pro Bowl has always been an iconic staple of the NFL season, an honor bestowed upon the league’s most talented players voted on by fans. However, the glorious All-Star match-up has faced recent criticism, due to the lack of competitiveness between the players and an overall lack of incentive to win, mainly caused by a fear of injury. 

The NFL recognized their fans disdain for the state of the Pro Bowl in recent years.The recently updated Pro Bowl schedule is as follows; a week long showcase of skill-based games culminating in a flag football game at the end of the week. The “Pro Bowl Games”, referencing the week-long event, will take place in Las Vegas in 2023. 

This brand new Pro Bowl will include a heavy emphasis on flag football, and will highlight boys and girls flag football tournaments and host their very own NFC vs. AFC flag football game. The flag football game will replace the classic exhibition game, and will provide players with the ability to play with some intensity, without the fear of getting injured, reviving the competitiveness the game was originally built around. 

Before the finale of the flag football game, the NFL will reintroduce its skills week with an attempt to highlight the players skill. The skills showcase will include the precision passing, the best catch, and fastest man events, as well as more skill showdowns.

If a week-long event highlighting current NFL players wasn’t enough, the NFL is also partnering with former great, Peyton Manning. Manning will hold a coaching position for the flag football games. In fact, the NFL is partnering with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, a sports media and entertainment company, in order to bring the best experience to viewers and sponsor the brand-new events that have been added. Peyton Manning and his company will work to create engaging and relevant content to bring more attention to the Pro Bowl.

The NFL’s brand new Pro Bowl is a fresh way to revamp an old classic to attract the younger audience. As the season progresses, more will be revealed about the event, but for now we know that the NFL is creating an inclusive, energetic environment for everyone to enjoy.