NFL Eliminating Pro Bowl — Here’s How the League Will Now Honor its Top Playmakers

• The NFL Pro Bowl will no longer include a game, but the NFL will still honor the top players in a ceremony
• The decision follows feedback from players who said they did not want to play competitively after the playoffs
• Honorees will be celebrated at a Los Angeles event during the February weekend previously reserved for the Pro Bowl Games

The NFL Pro Bowl is coming to an end after 75 years.

The league will still name 88 players as Pro Bowlers, and there will be no replacement selections, the NFL said. The league will announce the 2026 Pro Bowl class in December, and the honored players will gather for a celebration in Los Angeles during the February weekend when past Pro Bowl games were held.

The honored players will not take part in a game or any competition. Since 2013, the NFL has experimented with the Pro Bowl format. In 2023, the league added skills competitions and switched the game itself from tackle football to flag football. The 2026 Pro Bowl Games were held at a convention center in San Francisco on the Tuesday before the Super Bowl in nearby Santa Clara, Calif.

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“All-star games, I think, for all leagues have been fraught for a long time, and they haven’t necessarily represented the very best premium of that sport for those players,” Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of club business, international and league events, told The Athletic, which first reported on the NFL’s decision. “I think all leagues have struggled with that. We made the switch four years ago from the ‘tackle’ Pro Bowl to the flag game, and that was more strategic for us. In many ways, we saw a decrease in the replacement players.”

“But ultimately, the Pro Bowl, at its core, is about honoring the best of the best in that season, on the field, in real games,” O’Reilly continued. “And the shift here is about shifting the focus from the game — which is ultimately where people’s attention goes, especially the replacement players tied to it — to the honor.”

Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations, said the decision came after discussions with players about “what they value most about the Pro Bowl.” Players also told him they “don’t want competitive play” after the playoffs, Vincent said, ESPN reported.

“Being selected by your peers, coaches and fans as one of the very best at your position carries tremendous meaning,” Vincent said in a statement. “We heard clearly that the distinction matters, and our focus is on making the recognition that comes with it worthy of what these players accomplished on the field.”

The selection process will remain the same, with votes from fans, players and coaches weighed equally.

The NFL hosted All-Star games from 1939 through 1942 before launching the NFL Pro Bowl in 1951.

Read the original article on People