NFL ends Pro Bowl after 75 years

The NFL is ending the Pro Bowl, closing down an all-star event that had been part of the league calendar in some form almost every year since 1951.

The league announced Wednesday that it will no longer stage the AFC-NFC game, a flag-football matchup or the accompanying skills competitions that had replaced the traditional tackle exhibition in recent years. Beginning with the 2026 season, 88 players still will be selected as Pro Bowlers, but the honor will be limited to the original roster and marked by an in-person celebration at next year’s Super Bowl site in Los Angeles.

The Pro Bowl was not played in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the only interruption in the postseason event over its 75-year run.

“The Pro Bowl has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL,” league executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said in a statement. “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 said the roster will continue to be chosen through an equal-weighted vote of fans, players and coaches, with each group accounting for one-third of the selection process.

One of the biggest changes is the elimination of alternates. In past years, replacement players were added to the Pro Bowl roster when original selections withdrew because of injuries, Super Bowl commitments or other reasons. Under the new format, only the initial 88 players selected will be named Pro Bowlers.

CBS News reported that this year’s replacement selections included Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.

The NFL said it plans to “elevate” Pro Bowl selections by ending the replacement system. League officials said discussions with players helped drive the change, The Guardian reported, citing concerns that repeated replacement selections had diluted an honor that can carry contractual and legacy implications.

The Athletic reported, according to CBS News, that NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent Sr. discussed the state of the Pro Bowl with more than a dozen star players during a call this summer. Vincent said the players wanted a celebration of the league’s all-stars, CBS News reported.

The Pro Bowl has gone through repeated format changes as interest in the traditional tackle game declined. The event was long associated with Honolulu, but the NFL moved away from longtime host Hawaii after the 2016 edition and later brought the game to various cities. The AFC-NFC format was temporarily replaced by a fantasy-style draft in 2014 before returning in 2017.

A tackle football Pro Bowl was last played in 2022. The league rebranded the event as the Pro Bowl Games in 2023, using skills competitions and flag football instead. This past season, the Pro Bowl Games were held on the Tuesday before the Super Bowl in San Francisco.

The Guardian reported that the NFL no longer plans to stage a flag-football matchup or related competitions. CBS News reported that several flag football events will take place when the players are honored in Los Angeles.