NFL Ends Pro Bowl Game, Keeps Honor

NFL eliminates the Pro Bowl game, preserving 88-player selection with no alternates, after player.

The NFL announced that beginning with the 2026 season, it will no longer stage an AFC vs. NFC Pro Bowl game in any format, ending an all-star tradition that dates back to 1951. The Pro Bowl selection itself remains, now limited to 88 players with no replacement selections or alternates, reinforcing it as one of the league's most meaningful individual honors.

The NFL has tinkered with the Pro Bowl seemingly annually since 2013, switching formats and locations, but never fully removed the game until now. All-star games across leagues have been fraught, and the NFL had tried tackle, flag football, and skills competitions without restoring the event's prestige. Removing the game entirely, rather than reforming it, marks a consensus-breaking reversal of decades of league policy.

League executives consulted more than a dozen prominent players, including Jalen Hurts, Jalen Ramsey, George Kittle, and Dion Dawkins, who expressed a desire to be properly honored for earning the distinction. The Athletic reports that Troy Vincent Sr. said the alternate system "waters down the entire team," and that players felt the honor had become something less than it should be.

The roster will continue to be determined through an equal-weighted voting process among players, coaches, and fans, with each group accounting for one-third of the final vote. The 88 selected players will be revealed in late December through an enhanced announcement across NFL, club, social, and broadcast partner platforms, celebrating the performances that earned them the honor.

Pro Bowl selections carry real financial implications. Players on rookie deals drafted after the first round are eligible for performance escalators, fifth-year options for first-round picks can increase based on Pro Bowl appearances, and veterans often have incentive bonuses tied to the honor. The collective bargaining agreement gives the league sole discretion on whether to hold the game but requires a replacement event that recognizes outstanding players.

The NFL will bring the 2027 Pro Bowl class together during the traditional Pro Bowl weekend in Los Angeles for an in-person celebration recognizing players and their families. The league will also expand flag football programming ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with more than 200 NFL players representing 25-plus countries expressing interest in Olympic flag football competition.