T
he NFL is making significant changes to its All-Star game this season. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with the media during the league’s fall meeting on Oct. 22 and spoke on a variety of topics, but most notably, he spoke on this season’s Pro Bowl Games. Usually held the week before the Super Bowl either in Orlando, Florida or Hawaii, Goodell said that this year’s Pro Bowl would be much different– it will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
The move makes sense given how little regard many have for the NFL’s annual All-Star game. At one point being a full blown game between the AFC and NFC, the game has historically received criticism for the lack of effort the players show. And with minimal interest, the game eventually turned into the Pro Bowl Games– a series of games that players partake in. But now, Goodell intends to hold the Pro Bowl in the city where that year’s Super Bowl will take place.
Goodell’s Comments
Changes to the Pro Bowl have long been speculated, with rumors swirling that the league would cancel the event all together. But by moving the event to the week of the Super Bowl, the even becomes much more intimate and can be used to bring more hype to the Super Bowl and get fans more invested than ever before.
“We’ve spent a lot of time evolving our Pro Bowl, talking about how to make our Pro Bowl more attractive, both for our players participating but also our fans,” Goodell said. “We spent a great deal of time talking about the objectives, and the objectives really are to celebrate and honor our incredible players, and second is to use our game as a global platform.”
Under the current plans, the Pro Bowl Games will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco– the same venue where the Super Bowl Experience will be held. There will still be a flag football game that will be held in the 4,000 person ballroom inside of the venue.
The Future of the Pro Bowl
Over the years, the Pro Bowl has been seen as less and less interesting, often drawing very low viewers compared to other NFL events. But with the Olympics coming to the United States in 2028– and flag football featured as an event for the first time– the Pro Bowl could soon be used as a way to promote the sport even more and get international audiences excited for the introduction of flag football at the Olympics.
“Flag has become a global game,” Goodell said. “”Our players have embraced playing that in the all-star format, and we think it’s really important to continue that initiative.”
NFL owners unanimously approved NFL players to participate in the Olympics, but the full details are still being finalized. With the Olympics taking place around the time that NFL teams are in training camps and preparing for the preseason, it is still unknown exactly which players will partake and how high of caliber the players will be.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NFL to Move Pro Bowl Games to Bay Area During Super Bowl Week appeared first on Heavy Sports.