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Dismal Pro Bowl Games ratings show NFL exhibition has run its course
Can the NFL take a hint? After the dismal ratings for Sunday's Pro Bowl Games were revealed, fans have spoken. The exhibition has run its course.
According to Front Office Sports, 4.7 million viewers tuned into the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, an 18 percent decrease from 2024 when 5.8 million viewers watched.
FOS also noted the Pro Bowl has lost two million viewers in the three years since the last tackle football Pro Bowl game in 2022.
News: TV ratings for the Pro Bowl Games were down again, as 4.7 million people watched Sunday's broadcast headlined by a flag football game.
— David Rumsey (@_DavidRumsey) February 4, 2025
Viewership has dropped each of the 3 years the NFL has used the new format.
More @FOS ⤵️https://t.co/DkTFPezQWt
The league adopted a flag football game as the main event of Pro Bowl weekend in 2023, and viewership trends suggest the public isn't receptive to the change.
However, instead of reverting back to full pads, the league would be better off scrapping the event in its entirety. FOS notes that the league is using the format to generate interest in flag football's pending debut in the 2028 L.A. Olympics, so that appears unlikely.
On Tuesday, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote that commissioner Roger Goodell's Monday claim of the NFL "considering" launching a professional flag football league was an "understatement," according to a league source.
While a competitive flag football league might work (we have our doubts), the version trotted out at the Pro Bowl is not.
With several projected starters opting out every year, plus the Super Bowl teams lacking representation, it's hardly a true celebration of the league's best players.
The NFL will likely consider changes to the Pro Bowl to drive excitement, but it shouldn't waste its energy. Give it up. How many more millions of viewers must the event shed for the league to realize no one is interested?
More must-reads:
- Why Browns may not trade Myles Garrett before 2025 NFL Draft
- Who are the best NFL players from the 21st century?
- The '2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games starters' quiz
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