In past years, the Pro Bowl meant a lot to fans. It was a gathering of only the best players in the NFL, where participants would represent their conference (AFC vs. NFC) in a fun and exciting one-of-a-kind game. Highlights from Pro Bowls of the 1990s, 2000s, and even the 2010s were packed with exciting and frankly heartwarming moments between players that could rarely happen during the regular season. But in recent years there has been massive debate over whether the same significance is still behind the Pro Bowl. To me, the answer is a clear “no” thanks to several flaws surrounding it.
- They left Hawaii
From 1980 to 2016, all but two of the Pro Bowls took place in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium. It was a pleasant experience for most people involved, but especially for Hawaii. The island state is not only 2,400 miles off mainland America but they are also six hours behind New York and three hours behind California, and their population lags behind the big city markets that we know and love (New York, L.A., Chicago, Houston, et cetera). This game was the only chance for Hawaiians to bask in the benefits of live NFL football. However, after 2016, the games were moved to Orlando, as Aloha Stadium’s condition deteriorated, and the NFL found more tourism appeal in the city that was home to America’s greatest theme parks. While Orlando has been a good host city, it has nowhere near as high prestige as Honolulu, so part of the prestige behind the game has been lost.
- No more pads
There were never any rules against tackling in the Pro Bowl; the whole thing where players decided to “be gentle with each other” was more of a gentleman’s agreement between the players themselves. Seeing this, in 2022, the NFL got on board with that gentleman’s agreement. Instead of a usual full-pad tackle football game, we now have 7-on-7 flag football games coached by Peyton and Eli Manning. Part of the appeal of football has been the violence—some people just crave defenders flying to the football and making big hits. The lack of tenacity shown by Pro Bowl participants clearly drives a lot of people away.
- The best players don’t play
With the dates the way they are, Pro Bowlers on Super Bowl teams pass up the Pro Bowl in favor of preparing for the Super Bowl. It is obviously justifiable since the Super Bowl carries way more weight than anything else that takes place in America in a given year (other than the Presidential election). But even players who don’t make the Super Bowl have opted not to participate in the Pro Bowl events. This especially goes for this year’s events; Jayden Daniels, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen are all notable players who simply decided not to participate in the Pro Bowl in 2025. I fully expect that other players next year will follow suit.
- The fan votes…
I believe my biggest problem is the state of fan voting today. And I believe Travis Kelce is the prime example as to why the Pro Bowl has become so increasingly irrelevant.
Over the last couple of years, Kelce has shown signs of regression. He is no longer the best tight end in football (to be fair, he was for a period of time, especially after Rob Gronkowski retired). This year, he finished third in his position group (12th in the overall NFL) for total receptions and 5th in his position group (39TH in the NFL!) for receiving yards. And yet he still got the most fan votes during Pro Bowl voting, with over 250,000 fans casting their ballots in his favor, thanks solely to his ongoing relationship with Taylor Swift. The celebrity couple is a massive source of jealousy and ire towards the Kansas City Chiefs, so seeing the voting figures Travis Kelce notched shows exactly what the Pro Bowl means to its intended target audience: nothing.
