When I started scouting full time in 1984, there were four All-Star games: The Blue-Gray Game, The Hula Bowl, The Japan Bowl and the Senior Bowl. All had strong rosters with a number of potential premium-round players, and often some players would play in as many as three of those games. Playing in those games gave each participant a chance to gain more exposure in front of evaluators and coaches — not only on the practice field but in the various interview settings.
In recent years, the quality of the players in the different games has dropped off, which has hurt the attendance at these games.