This year’s Pro Bowl was a little better than the miserable offerings of recent years, yet even most would admit the game could be much better.
Seattle Seahawks corner Richard Sherman came up with a pretty good idea to help turn this around.
Pay the players.
Sherman argues that the check isn’t worth the risk of injury for most players, according to ESPN’s James Walker and Jenna Laine:
“Pay a guy what he makes per game. That would help a lot,” said Sherman, who made $785,562 per game in 2016. “If you pay a guy what he makes per game, he would probably play like it’s a game. A lot of these guys make a nice, decent chunk of change. That’s why a lot of guys don’t play. If you told them they’re making a game check, I guarantee you not many guys [would be] passing up Pro Bowls.”
This wouldn’t apply to everyone seeing as some guys made more at the Pro Bowl than they did per check during the season. But it’s an interesting point—stars who skip simply because they can might show up if an actual game check is up for grabs.
Whether this would actually encourage players to give a better effort during the game is up for debate. But getting the stars to show up in the first place and prevent an Andy Dalton vs. Kirk Cousins showdown is a step in the right direction.
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