Imagine quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers as captains choosing up sides for the Pro Bowl like a pick-up football game in the park.
It is reportedly one of the concepts being discussed as the NFL looks for ways to enhance the annual all-star game’s return in 2014.
The Pro Bowl has been played at Aloha Stadium every year since 1980, with the exception of 2010, and is expected to return for 2014, although there has been no official acknowledgement.
It apparently is more of an issue of how the game will look than whether it will be played in 2014, commissioner Roger Goodell suggested at the annual owners meetings Tuesday in Phoenix.
Goodell said he and his staff have met with NFL players who "have also met with the competition committee last month to talk about what we can do to make the game more attractive, more exciting and more competitive."
Goodell told a news conference, "There are some very good ideas. I’m going to report to the membership on that in the next two days and, before we leave here, I think we’ll be able to fill you in a little more."
NFL.com reported one option is "holding a draft as a way to divide up the teams," with one possibility being, "for player captains to choose teams as if on a schoolyard."
An NFL spokesman declined to comment on whether the format was still under consideration.
Goodell spoke favorably about the 2013 game, saying, "clearly there was an improved effort. I have spoken to several of the players and appreciate that (effort)."
After a lackluster performance in 2012, the 2013 game was to determine whether the league continued the all-star event.