The pro bowl is an honor for many players. When a player makes a pro bowl it means they were one of the best at their position. The amount of pro bowls a player gets is left on their legacy. However recently there has been much controversy over how the pro bowl is handled. Despite how long the pro bowl has gone on for, in recent years it has become meaningless.
In 2023, the NFL made the decision to change the pro bowl from tackle football to flag football. This decision was made in order to increase the safety of the players, but has been met with some drawbacks. Since the change, the pro bowl has had a decrease in viewership. The NFL has tried to put exciting games in the pro bowl like tug of war and accuracy games, to fuel the flag football excitement. However none of these games have truly brought the same excitement the pro bowl used to bring.
The pro bowl has always been designed to put the best non super bowl players in a game against each other. In 2025, dozens of the original players in the pro bowl were replaced by players who are not considered to be of pro bowl caliber. For example, after MVP seasons from various popular QB’s Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow, Burrow was the only one to play in the pro bowl. Allen and Jackson were replaced by Russell Wilson and Drake Mayes; QB’s who many consider to be subpar. How can the pro bowl be considered a great honor, if half decent players get that honor?
Finally, there are many players who get in based on popularity alone. In 2023, Travis Kelce blew up the internet when it was revealed that he was dating Taylor Swift. His popularity and fandom skyrocketed with this development. However since then he has not had the same level of production he has had in years prior. Despite that he was named the most voted pro bowl player in the entire NFL by the fans in 2025. This is shocking considering how not only were there many other players who had better seasons than him, but he wasn’t even the best at his position this year. In fact, four other tight ends had more receiving yards than Kelce, and 19 other tight ends had more touchdowns than him.
With the pro bowl changing so much and many players continuing to play in the games, the pro bowl has lost the amazement and excitement it has brought for many years and is now a quick cash grab for the NFL.
