Troy Vincent speaks during a news conference at an NFL owners meeting on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Brynn Anderson | AP Photo
ATLANTA — The Pro Bowl is no more, the NFL announced Wednesday, ending an exhibition of the league’s top players that was held in some form almost every year since 1951.
The game wasn’t played in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was the only pause in the postseason event.
“It’s OK to be the first league to walk away from a competitive all-star game,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said at the owners’ meeting in Atlanta.
The league said 88 players will still be named as Pro Bowlers and honored in Los Angeles after this season. Several flag football events also will take place at that time.
“The Pro Bowl has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL,” O’Reilly said in a statement. “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.”
O’Reilly said the decision was “a shift from the game to the honor.”
Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said he heard from players that they “don’t want competitive play” after the playoffs.
“You come off the championship games and the viewers see the physicality of the game and you try to replicate that,” Vincent said. “Frankly, it just doesn’t sit well. This isn’t a good representation.”
The Pro Bowl has waned in popularity in recent years. Once a staple in Honolulu, the NFL has moved the event to various cities and even switched from tackle to flag football in 2023.
Players face suspension based on certain penalties
NFL players will face a one-game suspension this season if they accumulate three penalties in certain designated categories, the league and the players’ union announced Wednesday.
The NFL and the NFLPA said in a statement that they have agreed to place a greater emphasis on five health and safety rules violations: the hip drop tackle; horse collar tackle; launching; hit on a defenseless player; and blindside block.
The goal is to make the game safer by focusing discipline on the infractions most likely to leave players injured.
“There are some player safety fouls that really put the defender and his opponent at really high risk,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations.
“We don’t like to remove people from the team or the roster,” he added. “But we’ve had to put some measures in place to hold the player to greater accountability for himself and for his opponent.”
NFL players voted on the changes at a Board of Player Representatives meeting Tuesday and owners were briefed on the new safety rules violations standards during a meeting Wednesday in Atlanta.
The violations in those categories will carry forward into subsequent seasons but the league and union said all players will start the upcoming season with a clean slate.
Players who commit only one violation will receive 50% of their fine back at the end of the season.
Coaches will also be required to join players in meetings with the NFL to review video of the violations when a player has accumulated two infractions and is on the threshold of a suspension.
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