NFL could cancel annual Pro Bowl but changes are coming

The NFL is looking to make big changes to the annual Pro Bowl game and they are not ruling out doing away with the game altogether.

According to reports that have been circulating today, the owners are poised to make changes to the game and some of those reports are suggesting that the league may do away with the game entirely. Personally, that might not be a bad idea, at least not in my opinion.

What wouldn’t change is players being voted onto the rosters, if they even bother to have rosters. Players will still find their names on ballots and fans, media, and other players will vote on who gets the “honor” and more importantly for the players, the check that comes with it.

Over the last decade or so the NFL has changed the game quite a bit. It has become a joke instead of any resemblance to a real game and no matter how hard the league has tried to drum up interest, fans simply are not buying into it. Changes need to be made and when most fans don’t really care if the game gets canceled, it says a lot about the state of that game.

So what will happen? No one knows exactly, just yet. The owners are meeting in Atlanta this week where it is being discussed but we need to realize that the owners are pretty slow to make any change that will cost them money and regardless of the joke that is on the field, not at the fault of the players, the game still makes money for the league.

Ian Rapoport had this to say from the owner’s meetings via social media.

"“discussing the Pro Bowl and ways to improve it,” including the possibility of getting rid of it. That day could instead be used to “showcase the players in it.”"

I don’t expect to see any changes made this year although they could surprise everyone. A cancellation of the game would interesting but also not likely to happen this year until they have an alternative in place. Cancellation would be smart though.

Concerns over injury, the prospect of players not really playing the game, and star players opting out for whatever reasons they can find, have been an ongoing problem. With the game itself shelved, the league could have a list of Pro Bowl players with no worries about finding replacements which have also become a huge running joke as we saw last year with the addition of Mac Jones of all people.

What changes might occur is anyone’s guess at this point but at least the league is finally seeing the game for what it is. Unneeded.