This story was first published on January 2, 2025, and has been updated.
The Pro Bowl’s reputation keeps eroding — players are openly deriding the event. A Giants offensive lineman took to X to call the Pro Bowl “a joke,” arguing that popularity, not performance, too often determines selections. Former three-time Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman also lamented that the honor used to mean something; although he denied naming anyone specifically, others pointed to the latest alternate pick — Shedeur Sanders — as evidence of the problem.
To be clear: this is not an attack on Sanders himself. He’s a rookie, was sandwiched behind a weak offensive line with limited receiving help, and in many ways handled tough circumstances well. Still, his numbers this season don’t line up with what you’d expect from a Pro Bowl quarterback. Among QBs with at least 75 dropbacks, only two undrafted rookies — Brady Cook and Max Brosmer — had worse touchdown-to-interception ratios than Sanders’ 7 TDs to 10 INTs. His projected EPA per play ranked only ahead of a handful of low-performing starters.
Last year’s replacement list was nearly as long as the original roster — many substitutions were understandable because Super Bowl teams and injured or resting players removed themselves from participation. But the replacement process itself is part of the problem. Not long ago, Russell Wilson and Drake Maye were named as replacements for Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Both Wilson and Maye finished the season around 22nd–23rd in EPA per dropback, behind names like Aidan O’Connell, Kirk Cousins and Joe Flacco — and Justin Herbert, who finished top-10, was overlooked for a replacement nod. Wilson’s season, while leading to a playoff spot, included below-average metrics and a 6–6 record as a starter, hardly an argument that he was among the conference’s elite.
This credibility gap isn’t new. In 2012 Jeff Saturday made the Pro Bowl despite not playing for the Packers that season. In 2022 Tyler Huntley — a backup who started four games and struggled — ended up on the roster, an outcome partly driven by alternate voting being handled differently (reports indicated alternate votes came only from players). And in 2010 Terrell Suggs admitted he voted in Ryan Fitzpatrick over league MVP Tom Brady. When popularity and politicking drive selections, the honor loses meaning.
Compare that to the NBA All-Star Game, where, despite debates over specifics, most All-Stars are clearly deserving. The NFL’s problem is deeper because Pro Bowl selections still influence Hall of Fame consideration and player legacies. Mike Sando and other voters have pointed out the contradiction: the Pro Bowl is both often dismissed by players and yet significant in postseason honors.
That creates a dilemma. Treating original Pro Bowl picks and late alternates as equivalent is unfair to players who genuinely earned the nod, but scrapping the designation entirely feels extreme — there are already very limited postseason recognitions. Practical fixes do exist: separate “initial” selections from alternates in official records (as Sando suggested); introduce position-specific awards or tiered All-Pro/All-NFL teams like the NBA’s multiple All-NBA squads; or add positional honors similar to MLB’s Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers. Those kinds of changes would give clearer context to a player’s season — for example, a runner who gains 1,800 scrimmage yards and leads the league in yards per carry deserves recognition that’s commensurate with that performance, not an ambiguous “Pro Bowl” label that can be diluted by late, popularity-driven additions.
While fans watch players participate in non-football activities during Pro Bowl weekend and see many stars skip the festivities, it’s reasonable to expect the league to tighten up how it honors its best performers. The event can be adjusted so the recognition means more to players, voters and future Hall of Fame committees.
Fan Take: This matters because Pro Bowl nods still shape careers and Hall of Fame cases; when selections look like popularity contests, it cheapens real achievement. Cleaning up the selection and replacement process — or adding clearer, position-based awards — would preserve meaningful recognition and give fans a more accurate measure of who truly had outstanding seasons.
