The NFL announced on Monday, September 26, that a weeklong skills competition will be replacing the traditional Pro Bowl from 2023. The competition will be attended by teams from both AFC and NFC, and will take place on February 5, in Las Vegas, a week ahead of the Super Bowl LVII. 

The league has reached an agreement with the International Federation of American Football, which will result in the inclusion of flag football in the World Games in July next year. The move comes in anticipation of the inclusion of the sport at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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“The Pro Bowl is something that we’ve been looking at for a while, really continuing to evolve,” the Associated Press quoted Peter O’Reilly, the NFL executive. 

“Coming out of last year’s game, we really made the decision based on a lot of internal conversations, getting feedback from GMs and coaches, getting a lot of feedback from players. We think there’s a real opportunity to do something wholly different here and move away from the traditional tackle football game. We decided the goal is to celebrate 88 of the biggest stars in the NFL in a really positive, fun, yet competitive way,” he added

What are the weeklong skills competitions?

For starters, a flag football game will be played on the final Sunday, which is replacing the full contact football game between the top players of the AFC and the NFC. The decision comes after the fact that many players do not agree to play a full-contact game for the risk of being injured in a game that does not entail much.

However, the flag football game, which is replacing the full-contact game from 2023, will ensure entertainment and skills but no tackles.

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Apart from the flag football game, throwing, dodgeball and 40-yard sprint were also included in the skill competitions earlier, which will be participated by the top players from both AFC and NFC in the week. Participating players will help their respective conferences with performances in both flag football and skills competitions. 

The Pro Bowl Games, as it will be rebranded, will be promoted by the Omaha Productions Company, owned by Peyton Manning. The Indianapolis Colts great will also be coaching in the flag football game.