NFL Draft: East-West Shrine Bowl moving to Las Vegas
The East-West Shrine Bowl is making a move! The annual college All-Star game has partnered with the NFL, and in doing so, will be moving from the St. Petersburg area to Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium. It’s a big deal for the NFL Draft process.
The East-West Shrine Bowl, the nation’s oldest college football all-star game, is partnering with the NFL and moving the event to Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium as part of NFL Pro Bowl week. The game will be Thursday, February 3rd, in primetime, on NFL Network.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 6, 2021
The move also includes a change in time. Normally, the Shrine Bowl happens during Championship week in the NFL, but now, they have moved it to be during the week of the Pro Bowl, an event also occurring in Vegas. Practices are starting on Saturday, January 29th, with the game occurring in prime time on NFL Network on Thursday, February 3rd.
More national coverage of the event is a great thing, especially for young college players and NFL Draft hopefuls, who get to showcase their skills in practice and the game. Residing in the same location as the Pro Bowl opens up a bunch of opportunities with NFL coaches and players to reach out and help out the young guys.
Despite the positive benefits, this move does affect the NFL Draft process in a big way, mostly because the Senior Bowl, the other major All-Star game in the late winter, is still scheduled for that week. This creates a conflict with some consequences.
Normally, the Senior Bowl, which often boasts the best-of-the-best regarding senior athletes, usually calls up the top performers from Shrine week to Mobile to compete in another week of practice. This eliminates that opportunity, unless some prospect wants to make the trip for just the game on Saturday.
This move could also create a difficult decision for prospects who get invites to both games right after the college season. Do you go to Mobile or to Vegas for the week? Location could hold some weight, and the top seniors could end up splitting off rather than be concentrated in Mobile. If that happens, draft media and analysts will have a tougher time providing NFL Draft coverage for both events, that is if you aren’t with a major network.
The move will certainly have ramifications, and it will be interesting to see how this shakes up the NFL Draft. We will see what happens next year.