NFL Cancels Pro Bowl Game and Pushes Back Super Bowl
— The NFL has canceled next January’s Pro Bowl scheduled for Las Vegas. During an owners meeting held virtually on Wednesday, the league opted to call off the all-star game, hoping to replace it with a variety of virtual activities. The NFL needs flexibility in January in case it needs to move regular-season games to that month because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pro Bowl, set for Jan. 31, a week before the Super Bowl, has lost much of its attractiveness in recent years. If there is a Pro Bowl in 2022, the 32 owners voted to return it to the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
— The next Super Bowl in New Orleans has been pushed back from 2024 to 2025 in order to avoid a conflict with the city’s traditional Mardi Gras celebrations. The NFL announced the change Wednesday, saying it was approved by all 32 clubs during a virtual league meeting. New Orleans was initially named the 2024 host city in 2018, but the NFL’s decision to lengthen the regular season schedule from 16 to 17 games in 2023 created a conflict in 2024 with Mardi Gras, which annually draws millions to the city for parades and balls during a several-week Carnival season that ends on “Fat Tuesday.”