No I would not. I also would not stake it on the last regular season game or any game before that. Why do we have to pretend like the bowl game is so much more dangerous than the other 12 prior?
Sydney Brown, Devon Witherspoon will not play in bowl game
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It’s not less dangerous. The game is less meaningful. That’s it.
And that’s the long and short of it.
To @ChiefGritty ’s point, at what point does it become less meaningful to the fans as well.
When that happens, the end of non-playoff bowls could be upon us.
TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Honestly the other bowls matter as much as ESPN/ABC (and the other networks) make them matter and to (those idiots at) ESPN they don't matter 
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
draft eligible / likely players have been sitting out these bowls for awhile now - we just haven’t been involved
there will always be bowl games as long as southern cities are looking for tourists between Dec 15- Jan 2. They just might have rosters without that many real good seniors . so be it
they will still be fun to watch
there will always be bowl games as long as southern cities are looking for tourists between Dec 15- Jan 2. They just might have rosters without that many real good seniors . so be it
they will still be fun to watch
I would not. I suppose it's a fair point, although I wouldn't have been willing to do that for the Northwestern game either (or any game ever for that matter). Would I have been wrong to be disappointed if they decided not to play that game in order to do draft prep?
For the record, my wife and I bought our plane tickets today anyway. Just sucks to not get to see the team play as a whole one more time.
cuillini
- San Bernardino, Ca.
But they'll risk injury in the senior bowl...
They'll also go to the Combine and work out for teams as well, I'm sure. I wonder if there's a common thread there...
I am a little perplexed about playing in the senior bowl but not our bowl.
Is that for real?
Is there some sort of draft measurements that get taken during the senior bowl? Or more scouts will be able to see you in person as opposed to only on tv for our bowl game? Maybe it’ll be less overall reps?
The reason I ask is if I were DW or SB, I’d take my chances inside a defense where I’m familiar and know my teammates/coaches’ tendencies/habits.
If there are actual plays being run like East vs West or something like that, I’d be worried about the unfamiliarity. Unfamiliarity can make you think instead of react, thinking slows you down, and being a step slow is how you get injured.
When I was flying, we’d have a check ride every 18 months to maintain qualification. The standard wisdom was to not do anything “dumb, different, or dangerous” on the ride. Basically, make it an incredibly vanilla profile so you don't mess something up.
Playing in the senior bowl but not our bowl feels “different”. But maybe they don’t do plays from scrimmage? Is it just a bunch of situation drills?
Senior Bowl is a week long event with scouts and decision makers from all NFL teams there. I've read it described as a "job-fair" for NFL prospects. The game is a small part of it, and it's played by Pro Bowl rules to reduce injury risk.
Here's an article from 2016 about insurance coverage amounts and costs for Deshaun Watson to return to Clemson. Not sure if the rules have changed since, but a few items of interest:
1. This was a pre-season article so the costs for a single bowl game would presumably be considerably less.
2. The school was allowed to pay for the premiums.
If bowls are interested in remaining relevant, star power matters. They should be involved in negotiating and securing these insurance agreements for key draft prospects, offering a standard schedule based on expected draft position. Players could still opt out, of course, but I think there are potential solutions regardless of how large a problem any individual fan believes this to be.
1. This was a pre-season article so the costs for a single bowl game would presumably be considerably less.
2. The school was allowed to pay for the premiums.
If bowls are interested in remaining relevant, star power matters. They should be involved in negotiating and securing these insurance agreements for key draft prospects, offering a standard schedule based on expected draft position. Players could still opt out, of course, but I think there are potential solutions regardless of how large a problem any individual fan believes this to be.
So it’s still meaningful?
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
they play those games at 1/2 speed
there is a little tiny risk of injury , but those games are basically two hand touch football
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
This has been discussed quite a bit in the game thread, but a key note is the entire second paragraph of the article: "the reality is players rarely get a payout even with an injury occuring".
I am sorry, but I do not believe these insurance policies will do much of anything to sway draft prospects from opting out. These make more sense for players in the playoff where the games actually mean something. With the difficulty in getting a legit payout, then why risk it if you were already leaning toward opting out? Also, if these policies start paying out, the cost for the policies will increase in the future. I think these insurance products are a joke.
I don't even see this being enticing from a bowl committee standpoint either. With bowl games being diluted already, I do not see benefit of tying up money here. I just don't think people go to or watch a college football bowl game for an individual player. There have been opt outs for many years now, we are just getting a glimpse of it because it is the first time we have been in a good bowl game with actual draft prospects in nearly a decade. If nobody opted out across all bowl games, I do not think it would make tangible viewership increases. I still watched the Florida/Oregon State game yesterday, despite all the opt outs.
Unless Sean Taylor is involved
. Remember when he blasted that kicker. So hilariousI care much less about bowls (and therefore watch less) than I did when I was younger. Part of that is opt outs. YMMV.
Not saying that your thought process is wrong, but if you could care less, why wouldn't you?
You got me. Grammar error. I meant I don't care much- or couldn't care less.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I would assume it is also because of devaluing in bowl games:
1970: 11 bowl games
1980: 15 bowl games
1990: 19 bowl games
2000: 25 bowl games
2010: 35 bowl games
2020: 26 bowl games (COVID impact)
2021: 39 bowl games (5 canceled)
2022: 43 bowl games
In 50 years we have seen a quadrupling in number of bowl games!
I believe volume of opt outs are highly correlated to number of bowl games increasing over the years. The fix to the current opt out situation is reducing number of bowl games, though ESPN and other high money sponsors would likely complain. My guess is that the next few years with expanded playoff will begin a contraction in number of bowls.
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I don't really understand where guys draw the line on playing or not playing with regards to their draft prospects. Why not sit out some of the last regular season games too?
At any rate, while it stings to lose 2 of your best for the final game, this is a signal that they are almost certainly getting their names called right? Let's hope for a couple of Day 1 selections!
At any rate, while it stings to lose 2 of your best for the final game, this is a signal that they are almost certainly getting their names called right? Let's hope for a couple of Day 1 selections!
Reading all this talk of injury risk reminds me of the old college all star game played in Chicago. The all stars would play the reigning NFL champs in August, I think. Went on for fifty years and I had the luck to attend the last one at Soldier Field before it was canceled. Talk about injury risk.
It also was the first football game that I ever saw to be rained out in the third quarter.
It also was the first football game that I ever saw to be rained out in the third quarter.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
I was at that game as a 13 year old with my dad .
unbelievable downpour came . was very difficult just getting out of the stadium to our car . we sat totally drenched in the car for over an hour as it was grid lock in the parking lot .
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
[steps back, cracks knuckles, inhales]
Bowls might be the dumbest thing going in American sports.
Getting a good chuckle out of people bellyaching about the impact of "the money" as we gear up to play in a bowl that will serve as a multi-day commercial for a Tampa cybersecurity company. The tradition! It's right up there with the Advocare V100 Bowl, the TaxSlayer Bowl, or the Meineke Car Care Bowl*. It's a positive that we earned this, but there's a reason when you ask anyone associated with the football program what the real "win" of bowl eligibility is, it's extra practice time that will pay off in future regular seasons. The game itself is, obviously, a completely meaningless exhibition.
It's great for the brand, fun for alums and students, and for the players who get essentially a comped vacation somewhere sunny and/or fun. But, as you'll notice, none of these things get anywhere remotely close to the threshold of "definitely worth putting your future livelihood/life's dream at risk."
I actually don't share @ChiefGritty's conviction that bowls will disappear in 10 years, because they've already devolved to a completely ridiculous state over the past 25 years, and are still chugging along, with lots of people are winking and nodding as money continues to be made, and CFB coaches would probably run through walls to protect what they view as a competitive advantage, even if slight. But I wouldn't be too torn up if they went extinct.
*not to be confused with the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, an entirely different game in a different location; of course, if you're a bowl stan, you're probably fully up to speed on the MCCB expanded universe
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