Opinion: The Pro Bowl is a Joke
The Pro Bowl Games for the 2025 NFL Season is to be held on February 3, 2026
The Pro Bowl is an annual event where the all stars of the National Football League meet for a friendly AFC vs. NFC competition, where the cream of the crop show off their skills, strengths, and why they deserve one of the Leagues most prestigious honors.
Or so it used to be.
The last few years the NFL has come under fire. Since changing from a full contact game to a 7 on 7 flag football match, the games have received criticism for lack of defense, effort, and more. This year specifically however, numerous nominees on the roster seem extremely unwarranted, and sure, most of them are replacements, but nonetheless, the idea that a 5th round rookie quarterback who went 3-4 as a starter, a 41 year old signal caller who was traded mid season due to poor play, and a tackle who played only 6 games on the year not only discredits the structure and meaning of the Pro Bowl, but also exposes just how much the game has fallen off.
Lets start with the Quarterbacks. Shedeur Sanders, son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, after sliding all the way to the fifth round of the NFL Draft, and despite not playing until Week 11, has made the Pro Bowl. He is replacing Drake Maye, whose Patriots squad will compete in the Super Bowl. Inspiring, huh? Think again. And for Joe Flacco, the 41 year old veteran who despite being traded mid-season and being replaced by a rookie, (Dillon Gabriel, who was later benched for Shedeur) managed to have the first and only(!) Pro Bowl campaign of his 18 NFL seasons. Once again, inspiring, but only at first glance. These two signal callers combined for 3,879 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions, while going 5-12 as starters. Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, and Bo Nix all had more yards, touchdowns, and wins INDIVIDUALLY. And led their teams to division titles. The answer to how Sanders and Flacco beat them out lies in the way the Pro Bowl is organized.
Pro Bowl voting is organized into three categories: Fans, Players, and Coaches. Each group is worth one third of the votes it takes to have a player selected. So if a player has a large fan base, and garners enough votes from teammates and other players, they can make the pro bowl, regardless of how they play. Shedeur Sanders was one of the most polarizing stories of the 2025 season. From his notorious draft slide, and going from a third string QB to starter, his story is slightly admirable. But he did NOT play good. Not Pro Bowl level, anyways. He’s simply a big name. He grabbed headlines, fans know him, so he got the votes. The same can be said for Travis Kelce. While he certainly had a good year, and was one of the better tight ends in the league, he surely benefited from the headlines that have come from his relationship with pop phenom Taylor Swift.
Fans have too much control over voting.
So what’s the answer? The votes must be diversified. Fan and player voting should only be 25%, the coaches category should include NFL Executives, and there should be an additional selection committee counting for the remainder of votes. This committee would be similar to the Hall of Fame, with major NFL personnel and former players handling selection. This way, there would be more votes from those who actually know football. This would prevent players who grab headlines but don’t play at a high level to receive honors that are much more deserving for others.
There is a counterargument. The NFL has stated that the reason that Sheduer and Flacco were chosen is because others refused to participate, which Flacco has actually done in a previous decade, but even if that is true, here is a list of Quarterbacks that had better QB ratings, more wins, and did not make the pro bowl.
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3381 Yards
23 Touchdowns
9 Wins
72.7 QBR
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2167 Yards
20 Touchdowns
7 wins
72.5 QBR
-
3587 Yards
22 Touchdowns
6 Wins
68.6 QBR
-
3101 Yards
19 Touchdowns
8 Wins
63.1 QBR
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2549 Yards
21 Touchdowns
6 Wins
62.8 QBR
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2151 Yards
13 Touchdowns
5 Wins
62.3 QBR
-
3041 Yards
19 Touchdowns
9 Wins
61.6 QBR
-
3693 Yards
26 Touchdowns
8 Wins
61.2 QBR
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3931 Yards
25 Touchdowns
14 Wins
58.4 QBR
-
3942 Yards
27 Touchdowns
11 Wins
58.3 QBR
-
4007 Yards
29 Touchdowns
13 Wins
58.2 QBR
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2272 Yards
15 Touchdowns
4 Wins
57.6 QBR
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2384 Yards
10 Touchdowns
5 Wins
48.9 QBR
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3011 Yards
23 Touchdowns
8 Wins
47.6 QBR
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3322 Yards
24 Touchdowns
10 Wins
44.3 QBR
Sure, three of those players are currently hurt, but it’s highly unlikely that 12 other quarterbacks turned down the offer. The problem is they didn’t get the votes. Either they weren’t as big of names or didn’t grab headlines, but the stats are there. The voting system must change so those who deserve the spotlight get it, and that mistakes like Sanders and Flacco do not happen again. The Pro Bowl is a joke, and will be until something changes.
The Pro Bowl games will be held starting on February 3, 2026.