NFL ends Pro Bowl game, but will still honor ‘best of the best’ players

ATLANTA — The Pro Bowl is nary more, the NFL announced Wednesday, ending an accumulation of the league’s apical players that was held successful immoderate signifier astir each twelvemonth since 1951.

The crippled wasn’t played successful 2021 due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was the lone intermission successful the postseason event.

The 2022 lawsuit — played successful Las Vegas astatine Allegiant Stadium connected Feb. 6 — was the event’s past accepted shot game. The adjacent twelvemonth astatine Allegiant, they moved to a emblem shot game.

“It’s OK to beryllium the archetypal league to locomotion distant from a competitory all-star game,” NFL enforcement vice president Peter O’Reilly said astatine the owners’ gathering successful Atlanta.

The league said 88 players volition inactive beryllium named arsenic Pro Bowlers and honored successful Los Angeles aft this season. Several emblem shot events besides volition instrumentality spot astatine that time.

“The Pro Bowl has ever been astir recognizing the players who separate themselves arsenic the precise champion successful the NFL,” O’Reilly said successful a statement. “A Pro Bowl enactment volition instrumentality to its archetypal purpose, honoring the champion of the best. We privation that favoritism to transportation adjacent greater meaning for the players, their families, their clubs and our fans.”

O’Reilly said the determination was “a displacement from the crippled to the honor.”

Troy Vincent, the league’s enforcement vice president of shot operations, said helium heard from players that they “don’t privation competitory play” aft the playoffs.

“You travel disconnected the title games and the viewers spot the physicality of the crippled and you effort to replicate that,” Vincent said. “Frankly, it conscionable doesn’t beryllium well. This isn’t a bully representation.”

The Pro Bowl has waned successful popularity successful caller years. Once a staple successful Honolulu, the NFL has moved the lawsuit to assorted cities.