Overview
- The NFL announced on Wednesday, August 26 that it will discontinue any AFC‑vs‑NFC Pro Bowl game or Pro Bowl Games competitions starting with the 2026 season.
- The league will continue to name 88 Pro Bowl honorees each year using the existing voting split among fans, players and coaches, but it will not add alternates to the roster.
- Selected players will be revealed in late December and invited to an in‑person celebration in Los Angeles during Super Bowl week rather than asked to play in an exhibition.
- League officials, including Commissioner Roger Goodell and executives Peter O’Reilly and Troy Vincent, said repeated player conversations and falling viewership drove the decision because the game no longer reflected top‑level play.
- The move ends decades of Pro Bowl experiments—from tackle to fantasy draft to flag and skills contests—and preserves the honor’s contract and legacy implications while removing a low‑rated TV event.