On Jan. 14, 1951, the National Football League (NFL) held its first Pro Bowl game. The Pro Bowl is a tradition where the best athletes of the season showcase their talents on the same field. However, for the first time since 1951, the NFL has decided to change the format of the Pro Bowl game from an actual game to a game of flag football.

Flag football is a recreational activity that mimics the same formatting as a regular football game but it does not include tackling.

With the Pro Bowl lacking viewer ratings, the change of formatting will perhaps draw in more viewers. For senior marketing management major Ernesto Rivera, the change was necessary.

“Whenever I heard the NFL announce the change, I was pretty excited about it,” Rivera said. “For the past few years, it [Pro Bowl] has been just lame, overall not fun to watch, and not good for the viewers.”

Along with changing the formatting of the Pro Bowl game, the NFL also added a skills challenge to which Rivera said he was excited about as well.

Many questions arose as to why the change may have occurred. Injuries have been a common occurrence in football, so it makes it hard not to consider the reasoning behind the change was due to injuries. SEMO Sports Management professor Dr. Myungwoo Lee said that due to the lack of physicality, the change needed to happen.

“We can guarantee that if there is no tackling, no body checks, no physical contact, there will be less of a chance of injury,” Lee said. “But from the perspective of sports fans and business minds, then I don’t think that it [Pro Bowl] works.”

With the Pro Bowl being a physical game in its earlier years, it is difficult to change the game to something far less intense. But since it is now a flag football game, Dr. Lee said fans will likely enjoy this format more because it is still a competition and the players' safety is being put first.

Injuries, viewership and ratings are only a few different perspectives people can look at as a result of the Pro Bowl becoming a flag football game. Changing to flag football has also become beneficial for the Pro Bowl and the NFL as a whole.

Bleacher Report reporter Maurice Bob wrote an article called “NFL Pro Bowl Games 2023: Rules and Format for Skills Challenge, Flag Football,” to which he mentioned how the NFL was doing this to improve themselves worldwide.

“This move by the NFL is also a way to push the game internationally,” Bobb wrote. “It's already partnered with the International Federal of American Football to bring flag football to the World Games this July and, ideally, to the Olympics in 2028.”

With the Pro Bowl being a recurring tradition during the NFL postseason, it may be hard for some fans to say goodbye to the old formatting. But the new format change may help fans get back into watching the Pro Bowl.

The Pro Bowl is hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada at Allegiant Stadium. The skills challenges begin at 6:00 p.m on Thursday, Feb. 2. The Pro Bowl flag football game will be held at 2:00 p.m on Feb. 5.