It may be a glorified exhibition, but the Pro Bowl is still NFL football, which means it still draws big TV ratings.
Last night’s Pro Bowl got 12.5 million viewers for the AFC’s 59-41 victory over the NFC.
To put that in perspective, the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star game had 11 million viewers. Baseball’s All-Star game is usually treated as a great sporting tradition while the Pro Bowl is usually treated like a second-rate game of flag football, but in the end, more people watch football. At this point, the NFL isn’t capable of drawing anything other than strong TV ratings.