One thing you can always trust about the NFL is that it will change something. Among the major sports leagues in the United States, none has been more proactive in trying new things, whether technological or, especially, in rule changes. This year, the big shakeup actually comes to the way they distribute honors. Since the 1950s, the league’s best players have been honored with Pro Bowl selections and celebrated by playing an All-Star game of sorts. However, over the past several years, that game became a running joke because of how unseriously the players took it. They didn’t play hard because, in their minds, there was no incentive to do so. Now the entire award structure is being torn down, and younger Chicago Bears players should take notice.
One thing that made the Pro Bowl so difficult to follow was the alternates. Guys who were selected to attend would often choose not to, either due to health issues or because they were still playing the postseason. This led many players to go in their place, becoming “Pro Bowlers” themselves. That is something fans have hated for years, and now the NFL is cracking down on it. According to Jonathan Jones of The Athletic, there will be no competition of any kind. Pro Bowlers will be selected, and that’s it—no more alternates.
Now, The Athletic has learned, the Pro Bowl is being eliminated.
On Wednesday, league executives presented to team owners the future of the Pro Bowl, which will no longer have a standalone game — be it tackle or flag football — or games. After surveying players over the years, the NFL will now make the Pro Bowl effectively an individual performance award. Eighty-eight players will receive the Pro Bowl honor with no alternates, corralling a key aspect of the all-star event that had gotten out of whack in recent years.
This is a big deal for future Chicago Bears.
One thing that is always a focus of NFL players is bargaining leverage. How many ways can they find to gain an edge in negotiating with teams on new contracts? Stats are obviously the big one. Another that agents always use to maximum effect is the Pro Bowl. If their player made the Pro Bowl, they should be compensated as such. People may roll their eyes and say this doesn’t happen. It absolutely does. Just look at two of the most recent examples.
Running back Breece Hall made the Pro Bowl as an alternate with the New York Jets, paying him $14.5 million per year. He rushed for 1,065 yards and 4 touchdowns. Yet he’s being paid more than Josh Jacobs and James Cook. Then you have Jake Ferguson. He finished with 600 yards and 8 touchdowns with the Dallas Cowboys last season. Subsequently, he was paid $12.5 million per year, the 7th-most in the NFL.
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Meanwhile, Hunter Henry had 768 yards and 7 touchdowns and got an extension for $8 million per year. He did not make the Pro Bowl. Having that little star next to your name matters. Well, it’ll matter even more now.
Agents and players have lost a lot of leverage.
Every year, there will be 88 Pro Bowlers. There were 103, including alternates, this past season. That should give you an idea of how much the NFL is shaving things down. Guys like Mitch Trubisky, Charles Leno, Cody Whitehair, and Nahshon Wright won’t get that added bump anymore. That will make negotiations more difficult and could lead to contract standoffs that become more testy than usual. Teams won’t be inclined to give up as much money, since they can argue that this guy or that guy didn’t make the Pro Bowl. Why should they pay him like one?
It may seem superficial, but that stuff matters. Darnell Wright should count himself fortunate. He received second-team All-Pro honors last season. That confirmed without question that he is one of the best right tackles in football. Now, other young Chicago Bears like Rome Odunze, Caleb Williams, and Colston Loveland better take note. If they want the maximum payday in the next year or two, they must play well enough to actually make the Pro Bowl, not slide in with a participation trophy.
