The 2023 NFL Pro Bowl Games will be the first of its kind, presenting a new spin on the league’s annual all-star game. Replacing a full-contact exhibition with an expanded skills competition and flag football tournament, the February showcase could ultimately also be a stepping stone to even bigger changes down the road.
When the NFL first announced details for the Pro Bowl Games in a memo to league personnel, it referred to the event as the “Replacement Event,” suggesting the new format is merely a trial run. That is, in fact, the case, according to Anthony Storm, senior vice president of A. Smith & Co. Productions, which is behind this year’s Pro Bowl Games.
“I don’t know what the NFL’s future plans are,” Storm tells CBS Sports, “but I know this is a great opportunity for us to grow the skills competition. And I know flag football is a big initiative over there. So I think there’s a lot of room for growth. This is the first time we’re expanding it into a two-night affair. So I think next year’s will be even bigger and better.”
The NFL first contacted A. Smith & Co. Productions, which has produced hit shows like “American Ninja Warrior,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Trading Spaces,” circa 2017, “looking to expand their Pro Bowl weekend into something more dynamic.”
“They reached out to us to have preliminary conversations,” Storm says. “We talked internally, and then we started doing their skills competition about six years ago. This year, it’s an entirely different event without the actual Pro Bowl game, so the skills have taken an even larger space.”
The revamped skills competition includes familiar events like precision passing and best catch contests, as well as the Gridiron Gauntlet relay race, plus expanded events like a dodgeball tournament, water balloon toss, JUGS-machine catch contest, weighted wall pull and Longest Drive golfing contest .
“[That one] I think it has a broader appeal, where we take 10 NFL Pro Bowlers and put them on a massive driving range,” Storm explains, “and see which one can hit a golf ball the furthest. Funny enough, there’s actually a lot of crossover between golf and football. We know that a lot of the elite players and retired players play.”
Co-produced by ESPN and Omaha Productions, with NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning serving as the honorary coaches for the AFC and NFC all-stars, respectively, the Pro Bowl Games is also a product of current players. The skills competition is crafted in part by incorporating player suggestions, Storm says, while A. Smith & Co. Productions tailors certain events around specific players’ in-game specialties, “trying to put these acrobatics and feats into a competitive format.”
And what, exactly, might lie ahead for the Games?
Storm can’t comment on the possibility of a contact game ever returning to the Pro Bowl. “That’s the NFL’s decision,” he says. But he’s hopeful the spotlight will expand to showcase players’ personalities, in addition to their on-field skills. A. Smith & Co. Productions has a track record of producing weekly multi-season shows, so how about a Pro Bowl reality TV series, or an unscripted offseason docuseries a la HBO’s “Hard Knocks?”
“I think it would be exciting,” Storm says with a laugh. “Any opportunity to see these guys showcasing their abilities. We’re open to it.”