The NFL will end all Pro Bowl Games starting with the 2026 season, including the traditional AFC-NFC tackle football matches, flag football, and skill competitions [1, 2, 3]. The league will continue selecting 88 Pro Bowl players each year but will no longer name alternates [1, 2, 3].

Selected players will be invited to an in-person celebration at the Super Bowl site in Los Angeles each February, where they will be honored without participating in any games or skills events [1, 2, 3]. The next such celebration is planned for February 2027 [1, 2, 3].

Voting for Pro Bowl selections remains divided evenly among fans, players, and coaches, each group accounting for one-third of the final vote tally [1, 2]. The change follows player feedback that after competing in the playoffs, they do not want to take part in additional high-intensity competitive games. Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations, said players told him, “after the playoffs, they don’t want to play another competitive game. You just played a championship game and the audience saw that level of physical intensity. Then you try to replicate that. Frankly, it doesn’t feel right. It’s not a good presentation” [3].

Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president, said the Pro Bowl "has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL. 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" [1].

The Pro Bowl traditionally featured an AFC versus NFC tackle football game until 2022. After that, the league rebranded it as the Pro Bowl Games with skills competitions and flag football starting in the 2023 season before deciding to discontinue the games entirely [1, 2, 3]. Since 2014, the Pro Bowl format saw multiple changes, including a fantasy football draft style, a return to the AFC-NFC format in 2017, and the move of its location from Hawaii after 2016 [1, 2].

An announcement naming the 88 Pro Bowl players for the 2026 season is expected by December 2026 [3].