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The NFL has announced the scrapping of its annual all-star game, only weeks after new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly called for the introduction of a Premier League equivalent.
The Pro-Bowl, first introduced in 1951, sees teams of stars from the NFL’s two conferences - the NFC and AFC - go head-to-head in an end of season exhibition game, but will be replaced by a new Pro-Bowl Games, which will include a multi-day series of skill challenges, as well as a flag football game to replace the full-contact version.
Boehly, an American businessman who also part-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball franchise, suggested the idea of a North vs South Premier League all-star game while speaking at a a conference in New York earlier this month.
“Ultimately I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports,” Boehly said. “And really starts to figure out, why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four sports teams, why isn’t there an All-Star game?
“People are talking about more money for the pyramid; in the MLB All-Star game this year we made $200m from a Monday and a Tuesday. So we’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League, for whatever the pyramid needed quite easily.”
Boehly’s idea was met with widespread ridicule across English football, not least because of the logistical challenge of fitting such a game into an already congested schedule.
Others pointed to the dwindling appeal of all-star games in American sports. The Pro-Bowl has seen a marked decline viewing figures over the past decade and fans have become frustrated with the quality of play, with players reluctant to risk injury in the late-season affair, which usually takes place in the gap between the Conference Championship Games and the Super Bowl (players involved in the latter do not participate).
The new Pro-Bowl Games will fill the same slot, with the inaugural edition taking place in Las Vegas in early February 2023, and provide a frontline showcase for flag football, a variation of the game broadly equivalent to tag rugby that has been a major part of the league’s push to grow the sport outside North America, including in the UK.
Despite the decreasing popularity of the game itself, being named to a Pro-Bowl squad remains a major honour for NFL players. In recent years, rosters have been selected via fan, player and coaches’ votes and a similar format is to remain in use.