The traditional college football bowl game season may be facing its end as players increasingly opt out of non-playoff games, citing transfer decisions and NFL draft prospects. Marshall recently withdrew from the Independence Bowl due to player shortages after the head coach took a new job and over 20 players entered the transfer portal. This trend of players skipping bowl games started when Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette opted out in 2016 to avoid injuries before the NFL draft. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the introduction of the transfer portal in 2018, has further exacerbated the issue, turning college football into a form of free agency. As players continue to opt out of games, the future of traditional bowl games and college football as a whole is uncertain. In the midst of these changes, NBA fans are finding the league’s attempts to reinvent the All-Star Game and NBA Cup final less relevant. The Lakers, who won the in-season tournament last year but struggled afterward, are a cautionary tale for the Milwaukee Bucks as they aim for a real championship.
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College players find non-playoff bowl games increasingly irrelevant – Daily News
