The NFL is ending the Pro Bowl Games after repeated format changes to its annual all-star event.
Beginning with the 2026 season, 88 Pro Bowlers will be selected but the NFL no longer plans to stage an AFC-NFC game, a flag-football matchup or an accompanying series of competitions. The players chosen will instead be invited to next year’s Super Bowl site in Los Angeles for an in-person celebration in February.
The biggest change beyond eliminating the event itself involves alternates. Only the original 88 selections will be named Pro Bowlers and no alternates will be added, ending a system that expanded the list when players withdrew because of injuries, Super Bowl commitments or other reasons.
Voting remains split with fans, players and coaches accounting for one-third of the selection process.
“The Pro Bowl has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said Wednesday. “A Pro Bowl selection will return to its original purpose, honoring the best of the best. We want that distinction to carry even greater meaning for the players, their families, their clubs and our fans.”
The NFL reworked the event through multiple iterations in recent years as interest in the traditional tackle all-star game declined. The AFC-NFC format was temporarily replaced by a fantasy football style draft in 2014 before later returning in 2017. The Pro Bowl moved away from longtime host Hawaii after the 2016 edition.
A tackle football game was last played in 2022, and rebranded as the Pro Bowl Games for a 2023 debut with skills competitions and flag football. This past season, the Pro Bowl Games were moved to the Tuesday before the Super Bowl in San Francisco.
League officials said discussions with players helped drive the latest change, citing concerns that repeated selections for replacement had diluted an honor that can have contractual and legacy implications.
–Field Level Media
