Being named to a Pro Bowl is still considered prestigious, but that prestige has taken a massive hit in recent years. It’s more common for the players first named to voluntarily pull out, injured or not. Combine this with even more players forcibly pulled out due to moving of the game to the week before the Super Bowl, and one can still be risibly called a “Pro Bowler” even if he was the seventh or eighth alternate. Or, to be more blunt, “Trevor Siemian, Pro Bowler“.
The location has also been degraded from its traditional location in Hawaii to Orlando. I suppose the phrase “I’m going to Disney[World]” could still be uttered…entirely among players who aren’t going to win the Super Bowl. There are also five figure game checks to be handed out…in a league where six figures is the veteran minimum and many Pro Bowlers are making seven to eight figures.
But while those aspects once had more glory, the game itself has long been a joke–and for good reason. No one wants to get hurt in a sport where injury is quite common, in the most meaningless game of all professional sports.
So why is the Pro Bowl still played? As is the case with so many silly rules in the NFL, the answer lies in the collective bargaining agreement. Continue reading Negotiate Away The Pro Bowl