Dismal Pro Bowl Games ratings show NFL exhibition has run its course

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?