On Wednesday night, the NFL revealed the rosters for the 2023 Pro Bowl. Players from 30 of the league’s 32 teams received the honor. On his show Thursday, Pat McAfee said it is a big deal to the players, particularly those named an all-star for the first time. He doesn’t think it is viewed that way by the public though.
According to the former punter, the NFL has allowed the Pro Bowl to become something of a punchline by letting the narrative that players do not want to participate in the game continue to exist.
His solution? If there is a problem, spend the money necessary to fix it. He noted that the NFL makes more than $1 billion per month on media rights deals alone.
“The NFL should want Pro Bowlers to be held at a standard,” McAfee said. “‘Oh, these are our best players. Our all-stars. Our superstars.’ And they make money off of the Pro Bowl game, a lot of it. That’s a part of those media rights deals.”
The NFL has the money to spend, for sure. But spending would cut into the profits that the league and its team owners can take home.
In McAfee’s eyes, the Pro Bowl does not have to be something that struggles to find an audience. There has never been a better or easier time to make the product better.
“I just think you can invest in things, and when you do they get better. That’s something businesses should think about doing, most specifically the NFL should think about doing in this time of gross profit. This is the most the NFL has ever profited in its entire life. This is a time, I think, where you can invest in some things and bring them back to a standard I think the NFL would want and the Pro Bowl is certainly one of them.”
