Rather than elaborate on what is wrong with the Pro Bowl, which I could likely do for a few thousand words, I'll use this space to offer a suggestion for its improvement...
First, move the Pro Bowl back to the week after the Super Bowl. I toyed internally with the idea of making it a midseason event, but quickly realized the absurdity of that notion in professional football, physically, logistically and functionally. Its best chance for success is after the Super Bowl has been played and all (healthy) players are available.
Second, move the Pro Bowl each year geographically. Hawaii is a good location, the Super Bowl location is not. But if the NFL is looking for an opportunity to globalize the sport, the Pro Bowl is a better opportunity to do that than a meaningless preseason game or by doing something as dumb as trying to play regular season games in Europe (What? They do that? Ugh.). Take the game to various locations across the globe that don't have football: London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Tokyo, Mexico City, Toronto, Los Angeles.
Third, make the financial incentive for players to play in the Pro Bowl meaningful for all players. The bonus should be a percentage, and a significant one, of a player's salary instead of a set dollar amount. After all, it is kinda ridiculous that someone making $10 million a year be offered the same incentive as someone making $500,000 to participate in the game. And only award the bonus to players who actually play in the game. Maybe some accommodations can be made for injured Pro Bowlers, but if a player is voted into the game and begs out, he shouldn't be paid.
Anything else I should include in my strategic plan before passing it along to NFL headquarters?
No comments:
Post a Comment