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NFL ditches the Pro Bowl

Say goodbye to the Pro Bowl.

Jonathan Jones of The Athletic reports that the NFL has pulled the plug on the event, which has morphed in recent years from a game of two-hand-touch in full pads to a variety of non-football events capped by a game of flag football.

Instead, the league will name a Pro Bowl team — consisting of 88 players — and have no Pro Bowl game or other competitive events.

“All-star games, I think, for all leagues have been fraught for a long time, and they haven’t necessarily represented the very best premium of that sport for those players,” NFL executive V.P. Peter O’Reilly told Jones. “I think all leagues have struggled with that. We made the switch four years ago from the ‘tackle’ Pro Bowl to the flag game, and that was more strategic for us. In many ways, we saw a decrease in the replacement players.

“But ultimately, the Pro Bowl, at its core, is about honoring the best of the best in that season, on the field, in real games. And the shift here is about shifting the focus from the game — which is ultimately where people’s attention goes, especially the replacement players tied to it — to the honor.”

The players will be invited to L.A. for an in-person celebration in February, presumably during Super Bowl week.

The NFL had a Pro Bowl, in some form, every year since 1951.

The common habit of players ditching the game created often absurd outcomes via the process of replacing players. Last year, Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders made the AFC Pro Bowl roster as the sixth alternate.

It’s the right outcome, something we argued for once it became clear that there was no legitimate business reason for a player healthy enough to play another game in February to risk injury. Name the team, have a dinner, and move on.

Finally, that’s what the NFL will be doing.