Overview
- The NFL told team owners on Wednesday that it will eliminate the Pro Bowl game and all related competitions starting with the 2026 season.
- The league will still name 88 Pro Bowlers through the existing fan/player/coach voting split but will no longer add alternates to replace withdrawals.
- Those 88 players will be announced in late December and invited to an in-person celebration in Los Angeles during Super Bowl week in February.
- League executives cited repeated complaints from players about injury risk and low-quality exhibition play plus steep viewership declines as the main reasons for the change.
- The move ends decades of format experiments—from tackle to fantasy draft to flag and skills events—and aims to restore Pro Bowl selections’ value for contracts, bonuses and legacy.