Peyton Manning’s prodigal promise comes full circle in NFL Pro Bowl makeover

Peyton Manning is headed back to the Pro Bowl! No, not as a quarterback; instead, he'll be the head honcho of the entire operation. What’s fascinating about this entire ordeal is how everything went down. 'ProFootballTalk' put it perfectly, so we’ll let them explain:

“Nine years after Peyton Manning implored Pro Bowlers to give better effort in order to avoid having the game killed by the NFL,” tweeted ProFootballTalk. “Manning’s production company will profit from turning the Pro Bowl’s carcass into something people might watch.”

The Associated Press reported that the NFL is canning the Pro Bowl. Instead, they’re replacing it with a week-long skills competitions. The league is also planning a flag football game that will be a part of the festivities.

The Pro Bowl began in 1951. After 70 years of the classic Honolulu showdown (and Orlando after that), the game is over. The NFL is now planning to replace it with “The Pro Bowl Games.” In the Games, players from the AFC and NFC will be competing in challenges and highlighting their skills. The challenges will be both football and non-football related. Las Vegas will be the first official host of The Pro Bowl Games in 2023. The festivities will be held at the Allegiant Stadium.

What does Peyton Manning have in store for The Pro Bowl Games?

Washington Football Team v Denver Broncos

The NFL has assigned Peyton Manning to be in charge of The Pro Bowl Games. Peyton Manning, who was once against ending the Pro Bowl, will be bringing his Omaha Productions company along for the ride. Peyton Manning and Omaha Productions will design the programming for the Games, as well as promote the content from the event throughout the week. A 14-time Pro Bowler himself, as well as a Hall of Famer, Manning will be a member of the flag football game’s coaching staff.

“The Pro Bowl is something that we’ve been looking at for a while, really continuing to evolve,” said NFL executive Peter O’Relly to the AP. “Coming out of last year’s game, we really made the decision based on a lot of internal conversations, getting feedback from [general managers] 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.

“The feedback very directly from guys who had been in the Pro Bowl recently was to keep the construct of the week, make sure you have that multi-day element. It was overwhelmingly positive both from players as well as from clubs.”

Given that Manning is a Pro Bowler who has probably received plenty of feedback from his fellow Pro Bowlers, the 2023 iteration is sure to be interesting, fresh, and something that will garner plenty of conversations.