Printed: October 23, 2025
For years, the Professional Bowl has been fully uninteresting to NFL followers. Gamers ultimately stopped giving any form of effort within the recreation, which is comprehensible on condition that it means nothing, and even a standard soccer play may end up in a severe damage, so the NFL scrambled to determine one thing out.
They’ve modified it to the Professional Bowl Video games, which is basically a area day for NFL gamers. Flag soccer and different talent competitions reign supreme. That also didn’t work, although, as followers had been nonetheless comparatively unimpressed. So with one other Professional Bowl arising this yr, the NFL is attempting yet one more change to spark curiosity.
NFL strikes Professional Bowl Video games into fascinating timeslot
If the NFL can’t get followers to go to the Professional Bowl Video games, they’ve determined that they’ll take the video games to followers. Shifting ahead, the occasion can be held originally of Tremendous Bowl Week within the host metropolis.
It is a sensible technique for the NFL. The place will NFL followers be the week of the large recreation? Many can be within the metropolis the place it’s being held, so whereas they’re there, why not go see another NFL stars and expertise an occasion that must be fairly enjoyable to look at? This most likely is not going to assist TV rankings, however ticket gross sales and in-person attendance ought to get a significant increase. Slowly however absolutely, the NFL has prolonged Tremendous Bowl Week into one thing of an occasion itself, with issues taking place on a regular basis. That is solely an extension of that, however with how profitable that week is and has been, the Professional Bowl will doubtless profit.
“Constructing on our sturdy partnerships with the Bay Space host committee and ESPN, we’re thrilled to make the 2026 Professional Bowl Video games offered by Verizon a part of Tremendous Bowl week, our largest platform of the yr, elevating flag soccer and our greatest gamers in a means that’s by no means been achieved earlier than,” Peter O’Reilly, NFL govt vice chairman of occasions, worldwide and membership enterprise, mentioned through CBS Sports activities. “The Professional Bowl Video games is not going to solely be an thrilling showcase of our greatest expertise, but additionally a style of the elite athleticism and dynamic motion we will count on to see on the Olympic stage.”
That final word is a vital one. Flag soccer, now the primary attraction for the Professional Bowl, goes to be an Olympic occasion that enables NFL gamers to compete. Whether or not or not they’ll beat out established flag gamers stays to be seen, however this is a wonderful approach to hyperlink the Professional Bowl Video games to one thing larger and rather more thrilling.
What’s extra, this may stop as many opt-outs from Professional Bowl gamers. Those taking part in within the Tremendous Bowl aren’t going to compete and distract themselves from the duty at hand, however with different obligations tied to Tremendous Bowl Week, the connection between that and the Professional Bowl may go away extra gamers readily available to take part. Fairly than having to skip the Video games to go do some media obligation earlier than the Tremendous Bowl, they’ll do each since they’re in the identical metropolis.
This season, the Tremendous Bowl and thus the Professional Bowl are within the Bay Space. Beforehand, the Professional Bowl had been tied to Hawaii. Just lately, it was held in Las Vegas and Orlando, two massive cities in America, however it can now journey. It is a massive change for cities, too, because the host metropolis for the Tremendous Bowl will undoubtedly see rather more tourism and financial progress as a result of Professional Bowl being added to the docket. All in all, it is a important change that can assist the NFL, the Professional Bowl, and numerous cities across the nation yr in and yr out.
