NFL scraps annual Pro Bowl game

The NFL is scrapping its annual all-star Pro Bowl game, the league said Wednesday, but will continue to award coveted Pro Bowl status to the year's top players.

Played in some form since the 1950s, the game has traditionally pitted the year's best players from the AFC and NFC conferences against each other in a semi-serious, season-capping contest.

But the game had suffered from dwindling interest and audiences, with star players eager to attain the honor of being selected to the Pro Bowl, but reluctant to risk injury during the low-stakes game itself.

Last February's Pro Bowl took place in the form of a flag football match, serving mainly as a showcase for the new tackle-free Olympic sport, and was held days before the Super Bowl in an indoor San Francisco convention center.

The NFL going forward "will no longer stage an AFC vs. NFC Pro Bowl game," the league said in a statement Wednesday.

"A Pro Bowl selection will return to its original purpose, honoring the best of the best," added NFL Executive Vice President Peter O'Reilly.

The Pro Bowl roster will be revealed in late December, and will be limited to 88 players, the league said. The class will be brought together for an in-person celebration in Los Angeles, host city of the upcoming season's Super Bowl.

"This direction came directly from our continued conversations with players and what they value most about the Pro Bowl," said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations.

"Being selected by your peers, coaches and fans as one of the very best at your position carries tremendous meaning.

"We heard clearly that the distinction matters, and our focus is on making the recognition that comes with it worthy of what these players accomplished on the field."

The upcoming NFL season begins on September 9, and will culminate with Super Bowl LXI on February 14.