The Pro Bowl has lost prestige in recent years and has also recorded low TV ratings. Now the NFL is trying to make the show event more popular again with a few changes.

For several years now, the Pro Bowl has been considered the black sheep of the NFL. Viewership has declined sharply.

After recent reports that the league wanted to move the annual Pro Bowl games to the city hosting the Super Bowl and make them part of the ever-growing Super Bowl week, it is now certain.

“We have spent a lot of time developing our Pro Bowl and discussing how we can make it more attractive – both for our participating players and for our fans,” emphasized Commissioner Roger Goodell at the annual Fall Owners Meeting.

“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the goals. The goals are, first and foremost, to celebrate and honor our incredible players, and second, to use our sport as a global platform,” the 66-year-old continued.

Super Bowl 2026: Pro Bowl just a few days earlier in California

Super Bowl LX will take place on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The NFL All-Star Game will therefore take place just a few days earlier nearby.

According to ESPN, the Pro Bowl Games are scheduled to be held on Tuesday evening, February 3, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the venue for the Super Bowl Fan Fest. The largest ballroom can accommodate 4,000 people, making the event more intimate than in previous years, when the focus was on TV broadcasts.

The show event will remain a flag football game between the AFC and NFC, although Peter O’Reilly, NFL executive vice president of international events, acknowledged that the format could become more international in the run-up to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“Flag has become a global sport,” Goodell said. “Our players have embraced the All-Star format, and we believe it is very important to continue this initiative.”

The modern Pro Bowl has been held in various locations since 1951, but reached its peak during 30 consecutive years from 1980 to 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. More recently, six of the last eight editions have been held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

NFL focused on 2028 Olympics

In a statement, the NFL previously confirmed that discussions were underway with ESPN, the NFLPA, and individual players about a “redesigned Pro Bowl for this season,” but did not provide any details.

“We will announce more information in the coming weeks. Our focus is on a world-class All-Star event that celebrates the league’s top players, strengthens fan engagement, and puts flag football front and center – especially with regard to player participation in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” an NFL spokesperson said.

In addition to the problem of low fan interest, an operational dilemma has recently arisen because the Pro Bowl takes place just seven days before the Super Bowl.

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Some people in NFL, sponsorship, and media circles felt that the time and money spent on hosting the Pro Bowl—sometimes thousands of miles away—was poorly spent compared to focusing on Super Bowl week.

It was also suggested that players selected for the Pro Bowl would be more inclined to participate if they could do so as part of Super Bowl week, where many of them have commercial commitments.